WOW!!! i am utterly amazed that he is FINALLY being freed, and that he survived prison.. i really thought that he might die in there. i have thought about him a lot. he deserves a hero's welcome home... he is a saint in my opinion. we here in america are so f*ed up and hypocritical about death (among many other things)... we put our pets to sleep out of mercy but we are not even legally allowed to put ourselves or help put our loved ones to sleep out of mercy... it's illegal and we have to allow them to suffer. yes, of course, some people end up just fine dying naturally and some get perfectly good hospital care.. but as adults, we should have the OPTION of what we want to do, and not be considered a criminal for it!
i can't believe it's the year 2007 and we are still so neurotic about this whole issue. i understand it can be a dangerous slippery slope.. but isn't it already a dangerous slippery slope, the other way...?? i would love to see the day when we as a species become enlightened enough, and start to use our intelligence & technology in the right way, to be able to help ourselves & our loved ones die in peace, with dignity, where & when they want to be, with who they want around them, not in pain, having said our goodbyes properly, with basic human dignity, and knowing we were not a terrible burden on those we care about.
it is a true crime that he was persecuted the way he was, and someday (that is if we don't re-enter the stone age, which it seems is happening).. we will see that he was right, and far ahead of his time.