## Facts

- Roswell Gilbert, age 75, killed his wife, Emily, after 51 years of marriage.
- The couple lived in Fort Lauderdale; Emily suffered from osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and severe arthritis, and experienced chronic pain and confusion.
- Witnesses described Emily as deteriorating and sometimes expressing a desire to die.
- The day before the killing, Gilbert took Emily to a hospital, but she insisted on returning home.
- The next day, after lunch and medication, Emily became distressed and cried for help.
- Gilbert decided to end her suffering, retrieved a gun, loaded it, and shot Emily twice in the head.
- A jury convicted Gilbert of first-degree premeditated murder under Florida law.
- The trial court imposed a life sentence with a 25-year mandatory minimum term before release eligibility.

## Issues

1. Whether an intentional “mercy killing” can negate or mitigate the element of premeditation required for first-degree murder under Florida law.
2. Whether a trial court may consider mitigating circumstances to avoid or reduce a statutorily required mandatory minimum sentence for first-degree murder.

## Decision

- The appellate court affirmed the conviction for first-degree premeditated murder.
- The court held that a compassionate motive and the victim’s suffering did not negate proof of a premeditated design to kill.
- The appellate court affirmed the life sentence with the 25-year mandatory minimum.
- The court held that judges lack authority to reduce or avoid a legislatively mandated minimum sentence based on mitigating factors, even in sympathetic circumstances.

## Legal Principles

- Premeditation may be shown by evidence of a conscious decision to kill followed by deliberate steps to carry out the killing (e.g., obtaining and loading a firearm).
- A “mercy killing” or euthanasia rationale is not a defense to, and does not legally mitigate, first-degree premeditated murder under Florida law.
- When the legislature prescribes a mandatory minimum sentence, the sentencing court may not depart from that minimum based on mitigation such as age, motive, or lack of criminal history.

## Conclusion

The court upheld Gilbert’s first-degree murder conviction and mandatory life sentence, ruling that compassionate motive does not defeat premeditation and that statutory mandatory minimums must be applied without mitigation-based reduction.


Gilbert v. State, 487 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 4th Dist. 1986)