Did Snape kil DD? WAS: Re: PoA - Snape knew?/

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 143589

> Julie:
> This is not strictly true, even in the Real World. Mitigating  
circumstances
> do play in role, both in the decision on what charges to bring 
against  the
> accused, and in the eventual punishment phase. For instance,  
euthanasia
> is a defense in some states in the U.S. that has resulted in  
dismissal
> of all charges.

a_svirn:
If we are to make comparisons with "Real Life", I am afraid, 
euthanasia parallel won't work. For one thing the absolute 
prerequisite for euthanasia is the patient's wish. Since the 
situation on the Tower was a complete surprise for all concerned 
(except for Draco and his comrades-in-arms, of course) it cannot be 
said that Snape had the dying Dumbledore's expressed wish to kill 
him. No can it be said that Snape knew that Dumbledore was dying and 
suffering the agony of unbearable pain. Even if the potion in the 
cave was actually a slow poison, Snape hadn't been present when 
Dumbledore had drunk it and therefore couldn't assess the damage 
done. 

Also euthanasia in "Real Life" doesn't mean that you, say, ambush a 
terminally ill person, while they are still in a possession of their 
faculties, point a gun at them and shoot them to death. It means, 
basically, either withholding life support or vital medication 
or/and terminal sedation. The main point, however, is to end 
person's suffering and agony, not just kill them because they are 
dying anyway. Nope, the murder on the Tower lookes like a murder and 
not even remotely like euthanasia.

> Julie:
> And who knows what Dumbledore will have to say about Snape's act
> from beyond the grave? What if he left a note saying he elicited a
> binding contract/promise from Snape to kill him under certain 
> circumstances (such as the circumstances on the Tower)? 

a_svirn:
Well, I don't know about the parallels in "Real Life", but the 
example that comes to mind immediately is the contract from "Once 
Upon a Time in America". You know, when a guy contracted his cousin 
to kill him. But then, they both were Mafiosi, not the high-minded 
promoters of the ideas of Light.