George Sanders Gets Probation Sentence for 'Mercy Killing' His ill Wife

George Sanders, an 86-year-old man from Arizona was sentenced to two years of probation for "mercy killing" his wife who was not well.

"My grandfather lived to love my grandmother, to serve and to make her feel as happy as he could every moment of their life," Sanders' grandson, Grant, told the judge, describing the couple's life together as "a beautiful love story. "I truly believe that the pain had become too much for my grandmother to bear."

Sanders was arrested November last year after admitting to have "mercy" killed his ailing wife, Virginia, 81, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1969, and was later forced into a wheelchair. According to a report by ABC news, Sanders shot Virginia in the head in the retirement community in Phoenix after she begged him to end her life as the pain had become unbearable. Virginia's health was deteriorating and she was to be admitted to a hospital for gangrene on her foot.

"It was just the last straw," Sanders told a detective during his interrogation shortly after the shooting at the couple's home in a retirement community outside Phoenix. "She didn't want to go to that hospital ... start cutting her toes off."

He was originally charged with first degree murder but later reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and after an emotional hearing where family members spoke on behalf of him, the court issued the sentence of 2 year probation instead of the maximum 12 year prison sentence.

Judge John Ditsworth spoke softly as he issued the sentence saying his decision "tempers justice with mercy."

"It is very clear that he will never forget that his actions ended the life of his wife," Ditsworth said.