Friday, March 29, 2013
Man charged in ‘mercy killing’ set for sentencing
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal shooting of his ailing elderly wife is set for sentencing.
George Sanders says his 81-year-old wife begged him to shoot her after learning she’d come down with an infection and would be hospitalized.
The 86-year-old says Virginia Sanders didn’t want to die in a hospital, so he shot her in the head on Nov. 9 at the couple’s Sun City home outside Phoenix. Attorneys on both sides are calling it a “mercy killing.”
He was originally charged with first-degree murder but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
The World War II veteran now could be sentenced today to up to 12 1/2 years in prison or as little as probation.