Spain euthanizes mass shooter before his trial

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - For the first time, Spanish authorities euthanized a prisoner awaiting trial on Tuesday – a man who shot and wounded four people.

In December, Marin Eugen Sabau brought a gun to his former office at a security company in the Catalan city of Tarragona.

After saying a few words to his colleagues, he opened fire. Three people were shot and seriously injured. The man fled the scene and shot a police officer in the arm during his escape.

Eventually, authorities had him surrounded. After allegedly shooting at the officers, the police fired back. A bullet hit Sabau in the spine and left him paraplegic.

Citing his injuries and leveraging Spain’s new euthanasia law, which came into effect in June 2021, Sabau asked authorities to assist him with suicide.

“I’m paraplegic. I’ve got 45 stitches in one hand and I can barely move my left arm. I’m full of screws and I can’t feel my chest,” he said in a statement released from the prison hospital.

Some victims of the mass shooting, however, argued that Sabau needed to face justice.

They filed legal attempts to block Sabau from receiving euthanasia, but a judge ruled that it was his “fundamental right” to opt for assisted suicide.

She added that Spain’s euthanasia law stipulates that the decision to grant euthanasia rests only with doctors, not courts or police.

Some of Sabau’s victims have voiced their disappointment with his ability to end his life before trial.

“It’s not fair. The justice system has let me down,” Luisa Rico, who was shot by her former colleague, told Spanish broadcaster Cadena Ser on Tuesday.

“When someone commits a crime, they should be judged. That’s what we ask for. We need it.”

Since Spain’s euthanasia law passed just over a year ago, at least 172 people have used it to end their life, according to Spanish daily El Pais.