Gilbert v. State

Gilbert v. State is a criminal case from the Florida District Court of Appeals, decided in 1986. Roswell Gilbert, age 75, was found guilty of first-degree or premeditated murder, of his wife, Emily Gilbert. The District Court affirmed his conviction, holding that euthanasia, or "mercy killing," was not a defense to premeditated murder. Gilbert was sentenced to life imprisonment, and under section 775.082, Florida Statutes (1981), he received a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years.

The disturbing facts of this case, as well as Gilbert's defense, has made this case a frequent inclusion in Criminal Law casebooks for first-year law courses.

This opinion was written by Judge Walden.

Roswell and Emily Gilbert lived together in a Fort Lauderdale condominium and had been married for 51 years. Emily suffered from osteoporosis and Alzheimer's Disease. She also took medication for severe arthritis. Those who knew Emily, testified that she was constantly in pain due to her condition. One instance, Roswell was called out of a condominium meeting because his wife was upset and crying. When he arrived, Emily said, "I'm so sick, I want to die, I'm so sick...Ros I want to die, I want to die."

On cross-examination, Roswell described the events that led up to Emily's death. On March 2, Emily was experiencing problems with her osteoporosis and was taken to the hospital the next day. She stated that she did not want to stay there and insisted on going home, which she eventually did. On March 4, the day of the killing, Roswell took Emily out to lunch. When they returned, Roswell gave Emily her medication, and laid her on the couch while he left for his condominium meeting. A few minutes later, Emily followed him down to the meeting, where Roswell left, and took her back up to their apartment. As she laid back down on the sofa, she said, "Please, somebody help me. Please, somebody help me." In his own words, this is how Roswell killed Emily:

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