[Right_to_die] Woman pleads guilty to lesser offence in helping brother die

[World right-to-die news list (nonprofit)]

Woman pleads to lesser charge in brother's suicide

Associated Press - May 29, 2009

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) - The sister of a severely disabled Lodi blues 
musician who committed suicide has pleaded guilty to accessory after a 
felony.

June Hartley can withdraw Thursday's plea if a San Joaquin County judge 
sentences her to prison or makes it a felony conviction at an Aug. 3 
hearing.

Accessory can carry a sentence of 3 years in prison but can also be a 
misdemeanor with no jail time.

Prosecutors had charged Hartley with assisted suicide in last year's 
death of 45-year-old James Hartley. Authorities say he suffocated after 
inhaling helium.

James Hartley was paralyzed and lost his speech and hearing after 
suffering strokes in 2006. He had asked people to help him die. Police 
say they doubted he could inhale from a helium tank without help.

James Hartley had been guitarist for the Studebaker Blues Band.