Dale and Mike Parak were twin brothers and best friends. They spent their entire
ID: 462226 • Letter: D
Question
Dale and Mike Parak were twin brothers and best friends. They spent their entire lives looking out for each other's interests. While growing up, the two were inseparable. They played sports together, double-dated frequently, and attended the same university. They grew closer as they aged, they got married at about the same time, and eventually, both were divorced. After they retired from their jobs, they decided to live together to save money, and they still enjoyed each other's company. When he was 70 years old, Mike was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors predicted that he had about 6 months to live. The brothers agreed that Mike should not suffer. Mike and Dale wrote and signed a note stating that they decided to commit suicide. Dale broke 20 tranquilizers into Mike's evening meal and watched as he ate it. Yet, when Dale checked on Mike one hour later, Mike was still alive. Dale panicked. He took a .38-caliber revolver from his desk and shot Mike, killing him instantly. Dale then went into the kitchen and took a handful of tranquilizers. He did not die. He awoke the next morning as somebody pounded on the front door. It was a neighbor who, seeing that Dale was dazed and confused, decided to call an ambulance and the police. The responding police officer conducted an investigation, and Dale was arrested and charged with the premeditated, 1st-degree murder of Mike. The prosecutor, although noting it to be a difficult case, pursued the case because she thought that no citizen had the right to decide when someone should die. Dale Parak pled guilty to 1st-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 5 years in a maximum-security prison. (Note: This was the lowest sentence that could be given to a defendant convicted of his crime.) If you were the judge in this case, how would you have sentenced Dale Parak? Why?
Explanation / Answer
In this case, when Mike got diagonised with cancer and decides to kill him its Dale's responsibility to counsel him and support him mentally and bring him out of that thought. People who suffer from chronic diseases will be in the state that they will think end their life rather than undergoing pain but its the responsbility of the relatives/friends who stay around them to counsel and pull them out of it. Instead of helping Mike in commiting suicide or killing himself Dale would have taken him to the phsychologist if he cannot motivate or counsel him. Dale was in a perfect healthy state both physically and mentally so he should counsel or take Mike to the pshychologist instead of giving tranquilizers or shooting him. So Dale should be sentenced to life imprisonment for taking wrong decision and not supporting Mike and helping him in implementing his wrong decision.
In the case of chronic diseases one should need a strong mental support rather than medication. If a person with disease becomes weak and takes wrong decision family/friends should take him/her to the pshychologist and get that treated instead of encouraging them to end their life.
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