The Danish nurse, Christina Hansen, was found guilty by the Danish high court of killing three of her patients and trying to kill another. The court handed down a life sentence for the murders.
Hansen was also stripped of her right to ever care for patients in any type of institution and must pay damages of nearly 500,000 kroner to the survivors of two of her victims. Hansen’s lawyer, Jørgen Lange appealed the judgement on the spot.
Only trying to help
During the trial, Lange argued that Hansen should not receive the life sentence the prosecution asked for on the grounds that the patients she killed were already in extremely poor health.
“I am quite sure that if Arne Herskov (one of the patients who died in 2012) had been asked if wanted to leave this world, he would have said yes,” said Lange.
No right
Prosecutor Michael Boolsen said that there was no doubt that a life sentence was the only proper response to Hansen’s crimes.
“We expect professionally competent care in a hospital,” he said. “This was unprofessional, incompetent and inappropriate – I decline to even call it care. Even if the patients were already dying, no one should have the right to kill them.”
