News

Catholic World News Service Nov. 11, 1997

OSLO, Norway (CWN) A retired doctor pleaded innocent to first-degree murder charges on Monday in a test of Norway’s law against euthanasia or mercy killing, after the doctor demanded he be tried to challenge the law.

Dr. Christian Sandsdalen, 79, allegedly gave a lethal dose of morphine to Bodil Bjerkmann, 45, a multiple sclerosis patient, at her request in June 1996. Sandsdalen confessed to the killing in a letter to the prosecutor and then demanded on national television that he be tried to test the law.

In Norway, first degree murder carries a maximum prison sentence of 21 years. However, the prosecution has opted for a shorter sentence of six years. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.