Graham Mansfield, 73, from Hale, Greater Manchester, was given a two-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter at Manchester Crown Court. A jury took just 90 minutes to acquit him of the most serious charge after he gave emotional evidence about how he had killed his wife, Diane, because she was in so much pain with terminal cancer. He said he killed her after she asked him to take her life “when things get bad for me”. The retired baggage handler and union spokesman said they were “the saddest words I had ever heard” but agreed on the condition he end his life. Outside court, Mansfield took the highly unusual step of thanking Greater Manchester police officers who arrested him and eventually charged him with murder. “They were so wonderful and kind,” she said. “They are nice people and they treated me like a human being.” He called for a change in the law on assisted dying: “I would just like to say that the law needs to be changed. No one should have to go through what we went through. Unfortunately, today, my wife is not here. He should not have died in such barbaric conditions. That was where we had to take refuge.” He said Diane would be “smoked” to see him with a criminal record for granting her death wish. His lawyer, Rachel Fletcher, said: “We are very pleased that the jury acquitted Mr Mansfield of murder, but under the current legal system, as the jury was told, he had no defense to manslaughter. This is a shocking situation in a supposedly civilized country and the sooner the law is changed the better.” The couple had been married for 40 years and Mansfield had told the court he could not bear the thought of life without his wife. “He was the most precious person in the world to me,” she said. “I wanted to be with her forever.” Diane Mansfield. Photo: Greater Manchester Police/PA A medical report compiled after Diane’s autopsy found that she probably had between one and four weeks to live when she died. She had bladder cancer that spread to her lungs and lymph nodes and had recently stopped chemotherapy. The couple had no children, but Diane’s brother Peter Higson gave evidence in court saying he bore no ill will towards his brother-in-law and would continue to value their friendship. He asked the judge to spare Mansfield jail, adding: “I believe Graham has suffered more than enough and will never get over this ordeal.” Giving evidence, Mansfield said Diane made no sound as he slashed her throat in their garden at 9pm on March 23, copying a method he had seen in a war film. He then tried to follow suit but woke up an hour later. An overdose attempt also failed and the next morning he called 999 and confessed what he had done. Police and paramedics who attended the scene told the court he was begging to be left to die, crying: “I couldn’t even do it right.” He was treated for injuries to his wrists and neck, but made a good recovery. Several notes were found at the scene. One said: “We have decided to take our own lives”, giving instructions on where to find his house keys and how to contact his sister, the court heard. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Another note, written by Mansfield and addressed to his family, was found in a folder at home. It read: “We are sorry to put you through this, but there is no other way. We made an agreement that when it got too bad for Diane we would end it. “I couldn’t bear to live without Dyanne and as the months went by and things got worse, she only strengthened our decision that the time had come. Hope you all understood. “Don’t get too upset. We had a wonderful and happy life together.” No note was signed by Diane, the court heard. Mr Justice Goose, sentencing Mansfield, said: “Your evidence, which I accept, is that every pore in your body did not want to kill your wife. It was what he had asked you to do. It was an act of love and compassion to end her suffering.” The circumstances of this case are “exceptional,” he said, explaining why he decided not to impose an immediate custodial sentence. Mansfield was described as a “positive person” by a psychiatrist who examined him days after the murder. He noted that the last year had been “very difficult” for him, but that he was adamant that he would not attempt to kill himself again, stating: “Diane wouldn’t want me to do that.” Mansfield, who was on bail, denied murder. He also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of manslaughter, arguing that his actions were “under duress”.
