A New York man, who admitted to murdering his parents because they “were losing their independence” as a result of old age, has called for the state to legalise assisted suicide.
Lorenz Kraus, who in September confessed on live television to murdering his parents and burying them in their garden, said “We need to widen up the law so that people can deal with these kind of problems in a humane way”. Kraus said that his parents’ old age and declining health made his decision necessary, and that he was acting out of “compassion” and “a sense of duty”.
Kraus admitted to strangling his father and choking his mother with a rope, claiming that his “concern for their misery was paramount” to his decision to murder them. Kraus continued, “There are 40 million boomers. They’re all going to go through these kinds of [age-related] problems”.
“I did my duty to my parents”, he said.
Kraus’ confession comes in the midst of a debate around New York State legalising assisted suicide. The proposed legislation, which would provide the legal framework for terminally ill people to end their lives, recently passed, with 81 to 67 in the House of Representatives and 35 to 27 in the Senate.
Kraus’ comments regarding the rationale for allegedly murdering his parents echo statements made by proponents of the state’s assisted suicide Bill. The lead sponsor of the Bill, assembly member Amy Paulin, said the Bill would ease individuals’ “needless suffering”. Corinne Carey, a representative of the pro-assisted suicide campaign group Compassion & Choices, formerly known as the Hemlock Society, said those who voted in favour of the Bill are “leading with love”.