BRITAIN: A British man who admitted smothering his terminally ill 10-year-old son was found not guilty of murder yesterday, prompting an angry response from the boy's mother who condemned the verdict.
Andrew Wragg (37) had said he was not of sound mind when he killed his son Jacob, who suffered from the rare inherited condition Hunter's Syndrome.
The former special forces soldier was given a two-year suspended sentence after he admitted a lesser charge of manslaughter at Lewes Crown Court.
After killing Jacob in July 2004, Wragg dialled emergency services to say he had carried out a "mercy killing", but prosecutors argued he had simply been overwhelmed by the responsibility of looking after his son.
Wragg's former wife Mary, the primary carer for the boy, said she was appalled by the sentence.
"Jacob was a happy, loving child living in a sometimes difficult body," she told reporters.
"It has been extremely difficult to sit and listen as the dignity of my little boy has been destroyed in an effort to reduce the impact of his death."
During the trial, jurors heard that Wragg smothered Jacob after Mary left the boy alone in the family house in Worthing, on the south coast.
Wragg had stood trial for murder but the case collapsed after the jury failed to reach a verdict.