Man who helped mother, 99, to die gets suspended jail term

DutchNews, January 31, 2018

Photo: Jan Dijkstra via Wikimedia Commons 

An elderly man who helped his 99-year-old mother to die 10 years ago has been given a six month suspended jail sentence, by judges in Den Bosch. 

Albert Heringa (75) was earlier cleared on all charges but the Supreme Court said in March 2017 there should be a retrial because euthanasia carried out by someone other than a doctor must be subject to ‘very strict rules’. 

In addition, his earlier appeal was ‘granted far too lightly’, the court said. 

Heringa decided to help his mother die when doctors refused her request to administer a lethal dose of medication. He filmed his mother, who was almost blind and suffering from crippling back pains, as he helped her take the pills that would kill her. She had been secretly storing up the pills for some time. 

The footage featured in a documentary called De laatste wens van Moek (Mum’s final wish) which was broadcast in 2010. 

The public prosecution department had called for a three month suspended jail term.