Jailed for murdering brain-damaged son

A mother who gave her brain-damaged son a lethal injection of heroin to end his "living hell" was jailed for life in the UK today after being found guilty of his murder.

Frances Inglis, whose 22-year-old son Tom suffered severe head injuries when he fell out of a moving ambulance, had admitted ending her son's life but denied murder, saying she did it "with love" to end his suffering.

During the trial Inglis wept as she gave an emotional account of how she had "no choice", describing her despair at the "horror, pain and tragedy" of her son's helpless condition.

"For Tom to live that living hell ... I couldn't leave my child like that," she told the Old Bailey.

The 57-year-old from Dagenham, Essex, had first tried to end her son's life in September 2007 and was charged with trying to kill him before going back and succeeding in November 2008, the Press Association reported.

Prosecuting lawyer Miranda Moore admitted it would be a hard-hearted person who did not have sympathy for Inglis, but said: "It is a tragic case but it is not a defence to murder to end someone's life to put them out of their misery."

Instructing the jury to put their emotions aside the judge said no one had the "unfettered right" to take the law into their own hands.

The jury, which deliberated for more than six hours, found Inglis guilty of both murder and attempted murder by a majority of 10 to two.

She was sentenced to life with a minimum term of nine years.