Harold Shipman, Dr. Death
It is estimated that he killed more than 250 people during the time he worked as a doctor. At 17, his mother suffered from lung cancer. Day after day, Harold would watch how his mother writhed in pain and the only thing that eased her suffering was morphine injections supplied by her doctor. In 1963, his mother died. Several years later, Shipman got his degree in medicine and surgery, with very good grades. His patients were delighted. As Shipman worked in the field of gynecology, getting morphine was easy for him, as it was used to relieve pain during labor. He began to consume this substance frequently. In 1974, his work was questioned when it was discovered that he prescribed morphine to patients who did not need it. The hospital opened an investigation. Not only did they find irregularities in his prescriptions, they also discovered his addiction to the drug. He was expelled from the hospital and sent to a drug rehabilitation clinic. Once rehabilitated, he founded his own surgical practice. His freedom to prescribe drugs freely resulted in mortal consequences. For five years, the number of deaths among elderly people was gigantic. Shipman himself signed the death certificates of patients, indicating natural causes. Then he persuaded relatives of the victims to cremate the bodies as soon as possible. One of his last victims was a wealthy woman. Shipman wrote a fake will, typewritten, which indicated him as the sole beneficiary. The daughter of the deceased woman was a lawyer. She knew her mother had no typewriter, so she sued the doctor and the body was exhumed. After analysis, remains of morphine were found. On September 7, 1998, the doctor was arrested. At his house, they found the proof of the crime: the typewriter that had produced the will. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 15 patients. It is estimated that the number of victims was 215. On January 13, 2004, at age 58, Harold Shipman hanged himself in his cell using bed sheets.
No comments:
Post a Comment