83-year-old Huang Lan (pseudonym) has a 46-year-old mentally handicapped son who suffers from Down syndrome and has been unable to take care of himself and needs his mother's careful care. However, as she grew older, Huang Lan's health became worse and worse, and she was worried that she would not be able to continue to take care of her son, and she did not want to send him to a welfare home, so she made an amazing decision: to use sleeping pills to help her son "free".
Such a mother, love or hate?Is it good or evil?Is it a salvation or a harm?What kind of legal punishment should she receive?These are questions that cannot be easily answered.
Mother's suffering: Caring for a mentally handicapped child for 46 years, exhausted
Huang Lan's son, Li Guoen (pseudonym), was diagnosed with Down syndrome at birth, a congenital intellectual disability that is often accompanied by symptoms such as growth retardation, abnormal facial features, and heart disease. Lai could not walk until he was a teenager, could not speak, could not take care of himself, and needed his mother's round-the-clock care.
Huang Lan retired as an employee of a radio factory before she retired, and in order to take care of her son, she retired early at the age of 47 to take care of his son at home. In 2013, Huang Lan's husband died, and the care of her son fell even more to her. Due to his long-term bed rest, his son's health is getting worse and worse, his muscles are atrophiing, and he has sores on his body, and he often suffers unbearable pain.
Huang Lan's health is also not good, she suffers from heart disease, high blood pressure and other diseases, and has to take a lot of medicine every day. She felt that her body could no longer support to take care of her son, but she could not bear to send her son to a welfare home, she was worried that her son would be neglected and abused there, and she did not want to leave the burden of her son to the eldest son's family, she felt that this was too unfair.
She once said, "It would be nice if there was euthanasia". She hopes that her son can leave this world peacefully, no longer suffer, and she can die with peace of mind.
Mother's action: Crushed 76 sleeping pills and put them in porridge, so that her son suffocated to death
May 9, 2017, was the day Huang Lan made that decision. She prepared 76 sleeping pills in advance, crushed them, put them in a bowl of porridge, and added honey to make the smell less obvious. She took the porridge and walked to her son's bed and said to him, "It won't hurt if you eat it." ”
The son didn't know his mother's intentions and obediently drank the porridge. Soon, he fell asleep, his breathing getting weaker and weaker. Huang Lan brought a cushion and a black silk scarf and covered her son's mouth and nose, suffocating him to death. She whispered in her son's ear, "Scream, mother, let's go." ”
After killing her son, Huang Lan left a paragraph on a piece of paper: "Seeing that his life is worse than death, I really can't bear to use sleeping pills to take him out of the bitter sea of life." I did it alone, and no one else knew about it. Then, she called her eldest son, saying that she and her younger son were not feeling well, and asked him to go home quickly. When the eldest son came home, he found his brother dead, and his mother sat at the head of the bed, crying.
In the afternoon of the same day, Huang Lan, accompanied by her eldest son, went to a nearby police station to surrender. She told the police: "I know the consequences of doing this. I'm doing this today because I want him to die. I am willing to bear the legal consequences. ”
Mother's end: sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years
Huang Lan's actions constituted the crime of intentional homicide, and in accordance with the law, she should be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years. However, considering Huang Lan's motive, circumstances and attitude, the prosecution believed that she was "killed out of love" and recommended a suspended sentence, and the court also adopted the prosecution's opinion.
On October 26, 2017, the Yuexiu District People's Court of Guangzhou Municipality rendered a first-instance judgment in the case and sentenced Huang Lan to three years in prison, suspended for four years. The court held that although Huang Lan's conduct seriously violated the right to life of others, she was not subjectively vicious, she was able to turn herself in after committing the crime, expressed remorse to the victim's family, showed remorse, and had no possibility of committing another crime, so she could be given a lighter punishment.
Huang Lan accepted the verdict and did not appeal. She said she just wanted her son to stop suffering, and she didn't want to hurt others. She said she loved her son and loved everyone.
Mother's Story: Sparking Reflection and Concern in Society
Huang Lan's story has aroused widespread attention and discussion in the society. Many people expressed sympathy and understanding for her actions and thought she was.
Thinking that she is a great mother, her actions are out of deep love and reluctance for her son, and her pain and helplessness are unimaginable. They believe that she should not be punished by the law, but should be understood and helped by society.
There were also those who objected to and criticized her actions, arguing that she was a brutal murderer, that her actions were a serious violation of her son's right to life, and that her motives and circumstances could not be grounds for mitigating culpability. They believe that she should be severely punished by the law in order to maintain the dignity and justice of the government.
There are also people who express doubts and confusion about her actions, believing that she is a tragic figure, that her actions are a helpless choice in despair, and that her motives and plots are worthy of sympathy and attention. They believe that her case is a complex ethical and legal puzzle that needs to be analyzed and evaluated from multiple angles and levels.
In any case, Huang Lan's story shows us the existence and seriousness of a social problem: the survival and welfare of people with intellectual disabilities. In China, there are nearly 10 million people with intellectual disabilities, and most of them are taken care of by their families, and the burden and pressure of families is very high. There is a lack of adequate social support and protection for people with intellectual disabilities in terms of education, employment, medical care, and pension, and their rights and dignity are often ignored and violated.
What can we do to make life better for people with intellectual disabilities and their families?What should we do to make people with intellectual disabilities and their families enjoy more care and respect?These problems need to be thought about and solved together.
Conclusion: Let love have warmth and let life have dignity
Huang Lan's story makes us feel the greatness and sorrow of mother's love, and also makes us reflect on the imperfection and injustice of society. We hope that such stories will not happen again, and we hope that people with intellectual disabilities and their families can receive more understanding and help, and can have more happiness and dignity. Let's take action together to let love have warmth and life with dignity.