The British man was arrested for killing his terminally sick wife has been released from prison in Cyprus.
David Hunter, 76, a retired miner who had been serving 19 months in prison for the crime, was released after Paphos’ apex court ruled the time to be “enough” given the circumstances.
This development comes within a month of Hunter being cleared of charges of premeditated murder, which were then replaced by manslaughter charges and an accompanying 24-month sentence.
He first went on trial in 2021, for killing his wife, Janice (then 74), who had been suffering from a rare manifestation of blood cancer. She was constantly in pain, and tired of being in that position, had been repeatedly asking her husband, to whom she was married for over five decades – to assist in her death.
Mr. Hunter proceeded to listen to her, suffocating her with his own hands in their home. He then tried to commit suicide using alcohol and pills.
Andreas Hadjikyrou, prosecutor for the state, said in a statement to the press that he and the court did understand that the act, despite everything, did come from a place of love.
The court also It also considered other factors, like his advanced age and lack of any prior criminal records.
The news was well-received by Lesley Cawthorne, his daughter, who began a fundraising campaign to aid in her father’s predicament.
The legal system in Cyprus does not allow assisted deaths so far.
