Euthanasia advocate avoids prison by death

SYDNEY, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- An Australian euthanasia advocate, suffering from breast cancer and facing prison for assisting at a death, has taken her own life.

Caren Jenning, 75, killed herself Thursday, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. She took an overdose of Nembutal, the same drug she gave to Graeme Wylie, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Jenning was convicted as an accessory and Wylie's partner, Shirley Justins, of manslaughter after a six-week trial with the jury finding the elderly man no longer had the intellectual capacity to decide he wanted to die. Sentencing was scheduled for next month.

Dr. Philip Nitschke, founder of Exit International, said that Jenning's suicide was "inevitable." Jenning was a member of the organization.

"It is not unexpected given the treatment and persecution she received at the hands of the legal system in the past few months," Nitschke said.

Jenning admitted in court that she went to Mexico to buy Nembutal for Wylie, a longtime friend. The drug is now illegal in Australia.