PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said Monday afternoon that she would not appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss assisted-suicide charges against Philadelphia nurse Barbara Mancini in a case closely watched by people who were concerned the state had intruded on a private family matter.
Mancini, 58, was charged last year with assisted suicide for handing her 93-year-old father his morphine…
“After careful consideration, OAG will not appeal the decision,” Kane said in a statement. “Judge Russell’s decision was based in part on her finding an absence of evidence at the preliminary hearing relating to the cause of death. Due to the inability of the Commonwealth to reopen the record, a legal determination was made that an appeal would not have a substantial likelihood of success.” … (more)
I agree with the AG’s decision and while I understand why she stands behind her prosecutors I believe her prosecutors were wrong to file charges in the first place. This case has also damaged Hospice who may have used poor judgement in calling police. Hospice initiated a process that was a loser for everyone and people may remember the possible consequences when allowing Hospice into their homes.