angel of mercy

An angel of mercy or angel of death is a type of criminal offender (often a type of serial killer) who is usually employed as a medical practitioner or a caregiver and intentionally harms or kills people under their care. The angel of mercy is often in a position of power and may decide the victim would be better off if they no longer suffered from whatever severe illness is plaguing them. This person then uses their knowledge to kill the victim. In some cases, as time goes on, this behavior escalates to encompass the healthy and the easily treated. Characteristics and motivations The motivation for this type of criminal behaviour is variable, but generally falls into one or more types or patterns: Mercy killer: Believe the victims are suffering or beyond help, though this belief may be delusional. Sadistic: Use their position as a way of exerting power and control over helpless victims. Malignant hero: A pattern wherein the subject endangers the victim's life in some way and then proceeds to "save" them. Some feign attempting resuscitation, all the while knowing their victim is already dead and beyond help, but hope to be seen as selflessly making an effort. In the medical field Some people with a pathological interest in the power of life and death can be attracted to medical or related professions. Killers who occupy the role of a professional carer are sometimes referred to as "angels of death" or angels of mercy. In this role they may kill their patients for money, for a sense of sadistic pleasure, for a belief that they are "easing" the patient's pain, or simply "because they can". The typical medical professional who murders kills two patients each month. One such killer was nurse Jane Toppan, who admitted during her murder trial that she was sexually aroused by death. She would administer a drug mixture to patients she chose as her victims, lie in bed with them and hold them close to her body as they died. Another example is Harold Shipman, an English family doctor, who made it appear that his victims died of natural causes (disease). Between 1975 and 1998, he murdered at least 215 patients; he is suspected of having murdered 250 people. Dr. John Bodkin Adams, meanwhile, though acquitted in 1957 of the murder of one patient, is believed to have killed around 163 patients in Eastbourne, England.