'No evil in his act': DA seeks to drop mercy killing murder charge

Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury has filed a motion to dismiss the murder charge against an elderly man who shot his paralyzed wife in her hospital bed last year after she reportedly begged to die.

William Dresser, 88, was arrested in January 2014 for killing his wife of 68 years, Frances Dresser at Carson Tahoe Hospital. Frances Dresser, 86, had fallen at home and suffered permanent paralysis.

Woodbury, who took office a year after the shooting occurred, cited evidence that Frances Dresser expressed a desire to no longer live, her family's request that her husband not be prosecuted and William Dresser's medical condition as reasons that a prosecution isn't warranted.

He also cited the fact William Dresser had no criminal history.

In an interview, Woodbury said his ultimate goal was to achieve a "just result."

"I didn't view there being any component of evil to his act of killing," Woodbury said. "We can talk about judgment, and morally whether it was a right or wrong decision, but I didn't view any aspect of it as evil. That's truly the component you need to have in a murder case is an evil motive and we didn't have that."

Woodbury also said his decision to seek a dismissal should not be interpreted to mean assisted suicide is acceptable. Rather, the facts of this specific case justified the decision, he said.

"We also wanted to be very cautious to not set a precedent that assisted suicide was tolerated in Carson City," he said. "My role as a prosecutor is not to make the law or those type of policy decisions. It's up to the Legislature to take that kind of act."

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Dresser, who was released from jail shortly after his arrested 18 months ago, is suffering from advanced-stage prostate cancer. His treatment costs about $64,000 a year, a cost that would be borne by the state if he were to be found guilty and imprisoned, according to Woodbury's motion.

Carson City Sheriff Kenneth Furlong, whose agency investigated the shooting, described the case as tragic and difficult, but said he supported Woodbury's decision not to pursue the murder charge.

"I don't condone what (Dresser) did whatsoever, whatsoever," Furlong said. "Law enforcement needs to allow the DAs to make those tough decisions and be supportive of them. I support Mr. Woodbury's decision, as tragic as it is, and to the degree I believe we cannot condone this type of behavior in our society."

According to court documents, Frances Dresser suffered a serious injury that left her paralyzed in a fall at her home. Because of her age, surgery was not an option and a decision was made that she would need to be cared for in a nursing home.

She told family members several times that she no longer wanted to live and was suffering excruciating pain, according to court documents.

"My grandmother was strong-willed, vibrant, curious about the world, charming, perceptive, very funny, and smart," her eldest grandchild wrote, according to court documents. "She loved nature. She loved to tap her feet to good music and hold her great-grandchildren close to her. It is impossible to imagine her living without those pleasures, without her basic human dignity, and in a state of constant physical pain."

About two weeks after her hospitalization, William Dresser bought a handgun at a pawn shop, loaded it with four rounds and brought it to her hospital room, court records said. He gave her a kiss while she slept and shot her in the chest.

According to court documents, Dresser then tried to shoot himself, but the gun jammed.

"William Lyle Dresser killed his wife, but he is not a murderer," Woodbury wrote in the motion. "He saw his wife of 63 years immobile in a hospital bed, paralyzed from the neck down, suffering with no hope of improvement, facing a short existence not remotely resembling a life she cared to live. So he ended that life. And he ended that suffering."

Judge John Tatro will decide whether to accept the motion or pursue prosecution.

"That's a real challenge for our system," Furlong said. "You can't condone the behavior, but what do you do with it once the behavior occurs? That was the difficult side.

"God love Mr. Woodbury, this is one of the most difficult decisions he has had, that any DA would have had, to make."