Ramon Sampedro

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Ramon Sampedro.

Ramón Sampedro (born January 5, 1943 in Porto do Son , A Coruña province , † January 12, 1998 in Boiro ) was a Spanish sailor who jumped from a cliff into the sea in August 1968 and suffered injuries as a result of the impact in the shallow Water was paralyzed from the neck down ( see also: tetraplegia ). Sampedro became known for his years of struggle for the right to active euthanasia , in which, however, he suffered a legal defeat in 1993.

He died with the help of a friend, Ramona Maneiro, who made it possible for him to commit suicide by providing a glass of potassium cyanide solution, which Sampedro drank with a straw. At the time of the offense, this was regarded as assisted suicide and was punishable by law. Only after the limitation period had expired , did she admit her act in January 2005. His agony, which lasted 20 minutes, was also videotaped. Shortly before his death in 1996, Sampedro published a volume of poetry ( Letters from Hell ), some of which he wrote himself and some of which he dictated.

Movie

His life was also filmed in the award-winning film The Sea in Me by Alejandro Amenábar . The film received an Oscar in 2005 in the category “Best Non-English Language Film”.

Works

  • Cartas desde el infierno , Planeta, Madrid, 1996 (and new editions), ISBN 8408056328 .
  • about Sampedro: Florencio Martínez Aguinagalde, Confieso mi cobardia: alegato intimo en favor de Ramón Sampedro , Elea, Bilbao, 2005, ISBN 84-933988-5-3