The judge has reversed his own decision which previously said the radio personality should be fed, hydrated and medicated.
- Jun 12, 2014
AceShowbiz - A Los Angeles judge overseeing Casey Kasem's conservatorship case has allowed his daughter to withhold medication, food and fluids from her ailing father. The judge reversed his ruling on Wednesday, June 11 after previously telling doctors to keep the radio personality alive with nourishment and meds.
The judge made the decision after a court-appointed attorney evaluated his condition. "It would be acutely harmful for Mr. Kasem to have nutrition and hydration restored at this time," the judge said. "This was at the advisement of doctors at St. Anthony's."
"The court's decision today upheld our father's explicit wishes as expressed by him in his health directive," Casey's daughter Kerri Kasem said in a statement after the hearing. She revealed that their dad's health directive document stated, "If the extension of my life would result in mere biological existence, devoid of cognitive function, with no reasonable hope for normal functioning, then I do not desire any form of life-sustaining procedures, including nutrition and hydration."
Kerri's lawyer Troy Martin said, according to Casey's doctor, continuing the artificial nutrition and hydration would only "at best prolong the dying process for him and will certainly add suffering to an already terribly uncomfortable dying process."
Troy added, "Nobody wants Mr. Kasem to die. This is without question the most difficult thing I have ever had to do and Kerri has had to do... The fact is that he is dying from sepsis and dementia." He continued saying, "This is very, very heart-wrenching. (Mr. Kasem) is receiving morphine drips. Hydration might be a terrible way to die, but he's receiving medication to keep him comfortable."
Casey's wife Jean Kasem was furious upon learning the latest ruling. "You have blood on your hands," she said, referring to Casey's kids, as she stormed out of the Los Angeles courtroom. Jean's lawyer Steve Haney added, "You just imposed a death sentence."
