Overview
- The Federal Court of Justice rejected the retired Berlin physician’s revision, confirming the April 2024 verdict and finalizing a three-year prison term.
- The court found the doctor acted intentionally in a controlling role and classified him as an indirect perpetrator of manslaughter.
- According to the judgment, he placed a venous access and connected an infusion containing an anesthetic accessible only to him, which the woman then opened before dying.
- An earlier attempt using medications failed when she vomited, and the doctor was acquitted of charges tied to that prior episode.
- The ruling underscores unresolved legal gaps around assisted suicide in cases involving mental illness, a concern the Berlin court flagged when it urged clarification and a review that the high court has now rejected.