Case of Mercy Killing Hits British Media.

From my friend Graciela: a new British documentary on assisted suicide contains the admission by veteran BBC reporter Ray Gosling that many years ago, when his lover who was dying from Aids, he honored their pact by holding a pillow over the dying man's face to prevent more suffering.

Sarah Garrod reports at InTheNews:

A BBC broadcaster is being investigated by police after he confessed live on air he had smothered his lover who was dying of Aids.

Ray Gosling, 70, said he had committed the killing as a mercy act, to prevent his lover from suffering "terrible pain".

Mr Gosling made the confession on the BBC East Midlands programme Inside Out broadcast last night. It is understood the show was recorded last November, but the BBC had not notified the police.

Nottinghamshire police said: "We were not aware of Mr Gosling's comments until the BBC Inside Out programme was shown.

"We are now liaising with the BBC and will investigate the matter."

Mr Gosling said on the show: "I killed someone once. He'd been my lover and he got Aids.

"I picked up the pillow and smothered him until he was dead. No regrets."

He added that he had killed the man after doctors told him in hospital that nothing more could be done for him: "I said to the doctor: 'Leave me… just for a bit,' and he went away.

"I picked up the pillow and smothered him until he was dead. The doctor came back and I said: 'He's gone.' Nothing more was ever said.

"When you love someone, it is difficult to see them suffer. My feelings on euthanasia are like jelly - they wobble about.

"This is the time to share a secret I have kept for quite a long time."

Care Not Killing, a UK-based alliance which promotes "more and better palliative care" and aims to ensure "that existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed during the lifetime of the current Parliament", said following the broadcast of the show: "It is impossible for any outsider to establish the facts in this case objectively as all we have currently is Mr Gosling's confession.

"The police will need to investigate the case thoroughly in order to establish the facts and then it will be up to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to decide whether to bring a prosecution. If the DPP proceeds it will then be a matter for the courts. A key difficulty faced by all those involved will be that the key witness, the deceased, will be unable to give any account about what actually happened.