Christine Malèvre (born January 10, 1970) is a former

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

who was arrested in 1998 on suspicion of having killed as many as 30 patients. She confessed to some of the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

s, but claimed she had done so at the request of the patients, who were all

terminally ill Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced he ...

. France, however, does not recognize a

right to die The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood that a person with a terminal illness, incurable pain, or without t ...

, and Malèvre eventually recanted most of her confessions. The families of several of her victims strongly denied that their relatives had expressed any will to die, much less asked Malèvre to kill them.

Charges

Malèvre initially admitted to assisting in the deaths of 30 terminally ill patients at François Quesnay Hospital in

Mantes-la-Jolie Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefe ...

.Sage, Adam. "'Mercy killer' on murder charges." Times ondon, England16 June 1999: 14. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. She later recanted, stating that she had made her original confession under duress."Paris euthanasia 'heroine' on trial for 7 murders." Times ondon, England21 Jan. 2003: 15. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. Although originally charged with the lesser charge of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

, Malèvre's charge was upgraded to

, following a report stating that she had a “morbid fascination” with death and patients were three to four times more likely to die during her duty periods. According to Olivier Morice, a lawyer for families of five patients who had died in Malèvre's care, the charge of murder came about because the judge had realized “we are dealing with a serial killer more than with a Madonna of euthanasia”. Shortly after her release on bail, Malèvre tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide by overdosing on drugs.

Trial

Malèvre went on trial in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

on 20 January 2003 on charges of murdering seven gravely ill patients between 1997 and 1998. She faced up to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

."French nurse jailed in 6 deaths." New York Times 1 Feb. 2003: A4. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. She admitted to having killed four patients by injecting them with lethal doses of

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

or other drugs, but denied being responsible for the other three deaths. She stated that her reason for lethally injecting these patients was because the patients requested to die, and she helped them to do so out of compassion. In a book she later wrote, called “My Confession”, Malèvre stated “I helped people to end their suffering and depart in peace. I did not kill. I am not a criminal.” Prosecutors did not agree with her statement. Having been

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d "the black widow" by her colleagues, prosecutors told the court that Malèvre's motives for ending the lives of her patients were not merciful, but rather due to her morbid fascination with death and illness; by killing these patients, she was satisfying her compulsions. Families of the deceased also went on the record agreeing with the prosecution that Malèvre killed for her own good, not for the good of her patients, denying that their relatives had ever asked to die, statements which would later turn many of Malèvre's supporters against her.

Sentencing

After a four-hour deliberation, Malèvre was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for the murder of six of the seven patients she was accused of killing. She was also permanently banned from working as a nurse.

Public opinion controversy

France disallows euthanasia, unlike its neighbors, Belgium and the Netherlands. Malèvre's arrest raised a national debate over the case itself as well as over the controversial topic of

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

in France. The country was divided between strong Roman Catholic hostility towards euthanasia and mounting pressure from the liberals to decriminalize

assisted suicide Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...

. After initially admitting to having helped 30 gravelly-ill patients kill themselves, Malèvre received an outpouring of support from both the public and from ministers. She received over 5,000 letters from the public showing support and appreciation for her acts of compassion, and health minister

Bernard Kouchner Bernard Kouchner KBE (born 1 November 1939) is a French politician and doctor. He is the co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Médecins du Monde. From 2007 until 2010, he was the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs ...

stated that people should avoid hasty moral judgement when it came to Malèvre's case. The media were also generally sympathetic toward Malèvre, whom they described as a model nurse who was helping terminally-ill patients to end their own lives. However, once details of the case were leaked by judges and family members, public opinion seemed to turn against Malèvre These leaks stated that the terminally-ill patients had neither wanted nor asked her to aid in their suicides. The principal French association supporting the right to die immediately dropped its support for Malèvre. Public opinion quickly turned against her to support the prosecution's opinion that she did not help her patients, but rather was a serial killer who murdered them to satisfy her own compulsions.

References

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