KEY POINTS:
A man convicted of attempted murder for administering a lethal overdose of morphine to end his terminally ill mother's life wants a public inquiry into palliative care, particularly in rural areas.
Ian Crutchley emerged from the High Court at Hamilton yesterday with his thumbs up and smiling after an ordeal his family described as "18 months of hell".
Justice Patrick Keane had sentenced Crutchley to six months' community detention and 150 hours of community work for the attempted murder of his 77-year-old mother, Elsie, last February at Taumarunui's Avonlea Hospital and Home.
Mrs Crutchley was in the final stages of stomach cancer when her son found her thrashing about in her bed begging him for some relief. He administered the fatal overdose of medication.
Yesterday's sentence was greeted with relief by Crutchley's supporters in the court's public gallery, including his two sisters and euthanasia campaigner Lesley Martin.
Outside the court, Crutchley said he "couldn't have got a better outcome" and felt "like a free man" but wanted a public inquiry into palliative health
"Hamilton here is pretty good, isn't it ? But in small towns it's not too good," he said. "The spotlight is off me now ... Now it's on them and they've got to answer some questions."
Crutchley said he wasn't worried about the stigma of his conviction nor did he have any regrets about what he had done.
Earlier, crown prosecutor Ross Douch urged a custodial sentence, saying Crutchley knew what he was doing was illegal and he had acted in a premeditated way. He said Crutchley had also deprived other family members of the chance to farewell their mother and his actions were "in fact, unnecessary".
"Because of his own subjective views he has completely disregarded one of the most serious laws we have to murder his own mother."
But Justice Keane said Crutchley had acted more in a state of panic as his mother was writhing in pain.
"You reached the conclusion that you reached within the space of half an hour in the highly distressing context your mother was suffering before your eyes."
Justice Keane said the "truly extraordinary" circumstances of the case differed from that of Lesley Martin, who in a book admitted giving her terminally ill mother an overdose of morphine and suffocating her with a pillow in 1999.
Ms Martin, who is a spokeswoman for Dignity New Zealand, praised Justice Keane's decision.
"It's very encouraging to see a humane and compassionate response at last," she said. "This is a huge shift in the way the community and our peers are now responding to this very difficult decision of end-of-life decisions."
Ms Martin said better choices should have been made available to the Crutchley family, and she supported their calls for an inquiry.
"That way we'll stop seeing families dragged through the justice system."
