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Ohio Man Shoots Wife of 45 Years in Hospital

Cops believe it was an attempted mercy killing

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 6, 2012 8:14 AM CDT

(Newser) – An Ohio man is facing a charge of attempted murder for what police believe was an attempted mercy killing. John Wise, 66, shot his wife of 45 years while she was in a hospital intensive care unit on Saturday, the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Barbara Wise, 65, was declared brain dead the day after the shooting. "He wanted to take away her suffering," a police spokesman says. Wise will appear in court today. A spokesman for Akron General Medical Center says privacy rules prevent the center from releasing details of why Barbara had been admitted to the ICU several days before the shooting.

Security reached the scene within a minute of the shooting and nobody else was injured, police say.
Security reached the scene within a minute of the shooting and nobody else was injured, police say.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 39 comments
JoeQ
Aug 6, 2012 12:32 PM CDT
By all means, prosecute him!  He's a menace to society!  Toss him in jail for life so he doesn't do it again!
fractal
Aug 6, 2012 12:32 PM CDT
I had to stop working in hospitals in the 80's because I was so outraged at the way terminal patients were treated---granted I was at a TEACHING hospital---don't make that mistake!!! People were kept artificially alive with electrolytes and machines while their body was rotting out from underneath them, so that the residents could use them as chemistry sets.  When I asked one resident why he was prolonging his patients suffering, when she obviously should have been dead many days ago, he said: "Well, she isn't going to die on MY WATCH."  Turns out the residents had a running competition to see who screwed up her electrolytes first, causing her heart to stop.  This woman's skin was like a wet sponge that dripped fluid when I touched her, but she had ceased to be a person in their eyes----they had long since learned from medical school to think of their patients as lab rats.  Not an isolated case; this was the norm for folks who didn't have family to pull the plug. Which is why having the documents in order to pull the plug is necessary.  And a family member that isn't afraid to make a stink.  I hope things have changed since the "right to die" movement gained prominence.  I wasn't going to stick around to find out.
Tology
Aug 6, 2012 11:37 AM CDT
There are a lot of comments about choosing your own time to go, sleeping pills and a drawstring plastic bag does the trick.

 
Ohio • mercy killing • hospital • Akron • shooting • intensive care unit

 
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