A Beautiful Death?

Long-time readers of this blog may remember our extended review of the Penguin Book, Cannibal, about the German maneater, Armin Meiwes. At the time, we mentioned that he received a mere eight-year sentence and had a lucrative movie deal in the works. This story summarizes the situation on appeal. The prosecutors want a longer sentence, and the defense wants a shorter one.

We were amused by Meiwes' attorney statement that the victim died a "beautiful death." Beautiful? Consensual, yes, but not beautiful. Meiwes cut off the victim's penis and left him in a tub of warm water to bleed to death. It took hours. At the very end, Meiwes sliced the victim's throat in order to hurry things along.

We realize that the defense attorney is just doing his job, but we wonder what other types of euphemisms we'll hear for assisted suicide if euthanasia picks up steam.

Link to Book: Cannibal