'Euthanasia' Doctor Cleared (Italy)

In a major victory for right-to-die advocates in Roman Catholic Italy, prosecutors on Tuesday cleared a doctor of wrongdoing after he switched off the life support of a terminally ill patient who had asked to die.

Anaesthetist Mario Riccio (pic'd alongside) removed the respirator of muscular dystrophy sufferer Piergiorgio Welby in December to end a life that the paralyzed patient had repeatedly described as torture.

Supporters have called Riccio a hero for ignoring a court ruling that rejected Welby's high-profile request to have his respirator removed. Opponents, including in parliament, said Riccio was a criminal who should go to jail.

The Roman Catholic Church went as far as to deny Welby a Catholic funeral and Pope Benedict joined the national debate by saying life was sacred until its "natural sunset".

"Even under the law, it's confirmed: there's been no crime of euthanasia, just a patient who refused treatment," Riccio told Reuters in an interview.

Prosecutors, after more than two months reviewing the case, said Riccio had done nothing wrong since he was acting in the spirit of Welby's constitutional rights.

Their request to shelve the investigation into Welby's death, announced on Tuesday, is an important procedural step that makes future criminal prosecution highly unlikely -- and could be seen as setting a precedent in other right-to-die cases.

"Doctor Riccio's behavior does not appear to be censurable for not having reinserted the artificial mechanical ventilator when the respiratory crisis occurred," the prosecutors wrote in their request to shelve the investigation.

Still, neither Riccio nor the medical panel and prosecutors described what Riccio had done as euthanasia, which is illegal in Italy and carries a 10 to 15 year jail term.

Only Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and the state of Oregon permit assisted suicide for the terminally ill.

Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga formally demanded magistrates consider Riccio a murder suspect last.

But Riccio's supporters have noted that Welby, lucid despite his illness, had asked to die and that his treatment held no hope of improving his condition.

Prosecutors noted those facts in their request to shelve the case.

Riccio, who gave Welby a cocktail of sedatives when removing the respirator, had already been cleared of wrongdoing by a medical panel last month.

He said the prosecutors' decision was a major step toward strengthening patients' rights in Italy.

"The only one who can ultimately decide on the therapy is the patient," Riccio said.

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