Ramón Sampedro | |
|---|---|
 A memorial to Sampedro in As Furnas | |
| Born | Ramón Sampedro Cameán (1943-01-05)5 January 1943 |
| Died | 12 January 1998(1998-01-12) (aged 55) Boiro, Galicia, Spain |
| Cause of death | Assisted suicide by ingestingpotassium cyanide |
| Occupation | Seaman |
| Known for | Right-to-die case |
Ramón Sampedro Cameán (5 January 1943 – 12 January 1998) was a Spanish seaman and writer. Sampedro became aquadriplegic at the age of 25 (on 23 August 1968), following a diving accident, and fought for his right to assisted dying for the following 29 years.
As a young man, Sampedro jumped into the sea from rocks near his home, a fishing village in the northern Spanish region of Galicia.[1] Misjudging the water's depth, he struck his head on the seabed.[1] He sustained a spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.[1]
Sampedro applied to Spain's lower courts, its higher courts, and theEuropean Commission onHuman Rights inStrasbourg to legally end his life.[1] His argument hinged on the fact that he was sure of his decision to die. However, owing to his paralysis, he was physically unable to die bysuicide without help. He argued that suicide was a right that he was being denied, and he sought legal advice concerning his right to receive assistance to end his life, first in the courts of Spain, where his case attracted country-wide attention. Eventually, his fight became known worldwide.
Sampedro died on Monday 12 January 1998 inBoiro, Spain, frompotassium cyanide poisoning.[2] Several days later, his close friend Ramona Maneiro was arrested and charged with assisting his suicide. Sampedro had divided the elements required to complete his suicide into individual tasks, each small enough that no single person could be convicted of assisting the suicide process entirely. Maneiro was released due to lack of evidence. No further charges were ever filed in connection with Sampedro's death.
Seven years later, after thestatute of limitations had expired, Maneiro, speaking on aSpanishtalk show, admitted to providing Sampedro with a cyanide-laced drink and a straw. She said "I did it for love." She also said she had turned on the video camera that recorded Sampedro's last words before he drank the poison and that she was in the room, behind the camera.
He left an open letter to the judges and the society and caused an ethical turmoil in the Spanish society which led to a Senatorial Committee onEuthanasia in 1999.
The story of Sampedro's life and death has been made into two Spanishfilms:
Condenado a vivir (English:Condemned to Live) (2001) is aTV-movie jointly produced byFORTA, the association of the public broadcasting regional networks of Spain, directed byRoberto Bodegas, where Sampedro was played byGalician actor Ernesto Chao.[3]
The Sea Inside (2004), directed byAlejandro Amenábar,[4] in which he was portrayed byJavier Bardem.[5] The movie drew international attention and won theBest Foreign Language Film award at the77th Academy Awards.[6]
Sampedro wrote a book before he died, titledCartas desde el infierno.[7] It includes a collection of poems, short essays, and reflections on life from Sampedro's point of view. After the release ofMar adentro, it was edited again.[8] As of 2005[update], 100,000 copies of the book have been sold.[9]
Spanish singer-songwriterAndrés Suárez wrote a song inspired by Sampedro's life, titled "Marinero," which was included on his 2007 albumManeras de romper una ola.
Sampedro was parodied byCarlos Areces inSpanish Movie (2009).[10]
The storyline of the 2010Bollywood filmGuzaarish is similar to that ofMar adentro.[11][12]
Media related toRamón Sampedro at Wikimedia Commons