Nigel Leigh Cox (born 1945 in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
) is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
consultant
rheumatologist
Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...
and one of the few doctors in Britain to have been charged with attempted murder.
[ ] In 1992 he was convicted of the attempted murder of patient Lillian Boyes, and received a
suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
.
Career
Cox worked at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital,
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
[
]
Lillian Boyes
In 1991 Lillian Boyes, then 70, entered the Royal Hampshire County Hospital. Cox was her consultant and had been treating Boyes for 13 years.[ As her ]rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...
became worse, she pleaded with him to end her life. According to the hospital chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
, 'When anyone touched her you could hear the bones move about in their joints. The sound will stay with me to the grave'.[
In August 1991, Cox administered an injection of two ]ampoule
An ampoule (also ampul and ampule) is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are usually made of glass.
Modern ampoules are most commonly used to contain pharmaceuticals and chem ...
s of potassium chloride
Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a salt ...
, in order to stop her heart. After she died, Patrick, one of her sons, thanked Cox. In Cox's view, he probably shortened her life by "between 15 minutes and an hour."[
Cox entered the amount used in the hospital ]log
Log most often refers to:
* Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut
** Logging, cutting down trees for logs
** Firewood, logs used for fuel
** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs
* Logarithm, in mathe ...
, twice the amount needed to cause death. It was then noticed by a nurse, who reported it. Cox signed the cause of death as having been bronchial pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity of ...
.
Cox was arrested for attempted murder and suspended for 18 months by the hospital, though he was allowed to teach at another hospital and continue his private practice.[
]
Trial
Cox was tried at Winchester Crown Court in September 1992 by Mr Justice Ognall
Sir Harry Henry Ognall, (9 January 193413 April 2021) was an English High Court judge, barrister and author.
Family and early life
Ognall was born in Salford into a middle-class Jewish family, and grew up in Leeds. Ognall's father was journal ...
. Cox was charged with attempted murder, since it was impossible to conclusively prove that the injection he gave killed her.[ He was given a 12-month suspended sentence. Boyes' family supported his actions throughout the trial.][
]
Post-trial career
In November 1992, the professional conduct committee of the General Medical Council
The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...
decided to take no further action. Cox returned to his former job in February 1993, under supervision.[
]
See also
*John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams (21 January 18994 July 1983) was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster, and suspected serial killer. Between 1946 and 1956, 163 of his patients died while in comas, which was deemed to be worthy of i ...
- British suspected serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
acquit
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
ted in 1957 of murdering an elderly patient.
*Leonard Arthur
Leonard John Henry Arthur (20 April 1926 – 25 December 1983) was a British doctor tried in the 1981 case of ''R v Arthur'', for the attempted murder of John Pearson, a newborn child with Down's syndrome. He was acquitted.
An important test case ...
- British doctor acquitted in 1981 of murdering a Down's Syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual disa ...
baby
* Howard Martin - British doctor who admitted hastening the deaths of two patients
*David Moor
David Moor (1947–2000) was a British people, British general practitioner who was prosecuted in 1999 for the euthanasia of a patient. He was found Acquittal, not guilty but admitted in a press interview to having helped up to 300 people to die. ...
- British doctor acquitted in 1999 of murdering a 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 ...
patient. Moor admitted in a press interview to having killed 300 patients over 30 years
References
External links
2005 Independent on Sunday interview with CoxArticle on euthanasia, including a detailed discussion of Cox's case on page 6
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Nigel
1945 births
Living people
20th-century English medical doctors
English criminals
Euthanasia activists
Euthanasia doctors