Love, compassion motivated killer: judge

A man who suffocated his chronically ill partner with a plastic bag has avoided jail, with a judge saying the offender was motivated only by love and compassion. David Scott Mathers, 66, on Thursday said he wished he didn't have to kill his partner of more than two decades, Eva Griffith, who had been suffering from a degenerative spine condition. In handing him a two-year suspended sentence, NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Hall said the couple had been devoted and happy, and Mathers was faced with an "agonising conflict" when Ms Griffith became desperate to end her life.  ... Euthanasia advocacy group Exit International welcomed the judge's decision, but said Mathers, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, should never have had to face court.