A Well Intentioned Murder?

The jury's verdict was fairly straight forward, considering the action Jesse admitted to was illegal:

Augusta County prosecutor A. Lee Ervin said it didn't matter if Cayton's wife asked to be killed. "That's not a permissible thing to do in Virginia," he said.

During closing arguments, Ervin noted the murder victim was sick and permanently hooked to oxygen, but called into question efforts to paint the death as a mercy killing. " ... there's no evidence that she was going to die anytime soon," he said. "This man shot her down like a dog."

The case was dramatic, in part , because the husband used a revolver to shoot his wife in the face and chest. Others approach killing in a more subtle manner by removing nutrients and treatment.