Murder or assisted suicide: both wrong, both tragic

Back in Sept. of 2010,  I posted this from the Seattle Weekly.com. It was a somewhat strange story about a man ,  called homeless by the article , was found strangled. Another homeless man stepped up when the police were at the scene investigating and said that  he had done the strangling as a favor to his friend who was depressed and said he wanted to die. I posted the article and expressed my viewpoint against assisted suicide if indeed that was what it was. I do realize it is legal in WA.  We cannot know if the deceased actually said he wanted to die but regardless he should have received help to live and not die.

One of my faithful readers, anonymous, who monitors this to disagree with me on assisted suicide/abortion/escr/right to life anything  and a person who says he/she is a cousin of the deceased and claims this was murder and keeps writing to demand an apology. Although I point out that I posted what the article said and am against assisted suicide and consider it murder, he keeps telling me to be a good Catholic and apologize as his cousin was murdered. Well, thanks for considering me Catholic which is beside the point but I am not a Catholic.  My mother, however, thanks you for thinking that.

I do not support assisted suicide and what happened to his cousin is tragic, no doubt. I can say that I consider assisted suicide  murder but what is important is not my opinion but the disposition of the case. Did the deceased actually say that to Joshua? We will  never know. I had asked the cousin to tell me the disposition of the case  which surely he/she is following as I am interested in how this turned out. He/she never did so when he wrote to complain the last time that his cousin was murdered and demand an apology for an article that I did not write;  I wrote to the reporter asking for the disposition of the case. He did not know and was not following it. I called the DA and got transferred to several different places but finally got some information on Joshua Stattman who is alleged to have committed the crime. He is still in custody with bail set at one million dollars. There is a preliminary hearing set for 1-19-11.

So for anonymous that supports assisted suicide but is sure this is murder and for  the cousin who is sure this is murder and wants an apology for an article I did not write, let's see what the courts decide. I am opposed to murder and assisted suicide and hope justice is done in this case. Murder or assisted suicide, a life is lost and that is tragic and I oppose both.