Mercy killing dad avoids jail
A father who helped his suicidal daughter to die in a bid to end her suffering has walked free after receiving a suspended prison sentence.
Father-of-two James Lawson, 52, of Hove, West Sussex, helped his daughter, Sarah, 22, take a drugs overdose, which failed to kill her. He then placed a plastic bag over her head, before using a pillow over her face and his hand to suffocate her.
The roof tiler denied the murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Maidstone Crown Court. He was sentenced to a two-year prison term, suspended for two years, and two years probation.
The court heard that his daughter had suffered from manic depression for more than 10 years and had had a long history of self-abuse and trying to commit suicide.
It had started through an obsession with the Manic Street Preachers' guitarist, Richie Edwards. The guitarist was known to harm himself and is believed to have committed suicide by throwing himself from a bridge, the court heard.
Lawson told police he had taken part in the mercy killing as his family could take no more and he felt the NHS had repeatedly failed to help his daughter.
The family wanted her to be admitted to a secure psychiatric unit to stop her hurting herself and get the treatment she needed.
Miss Lawson was taken into the care of Homefields Psychiatric Hospital, in Worthing, the day before she died, but was ejected the next day for allegedly supplying cannabis to other patients.
The court heard that six hours after leaving the hospital, the father helped his daughter to die.
West Sussex Health Authority and the county's social services' department said they would jointly carry out an independent review into the events leading up to Sarah's death.
