A veteran British TV reporter claimed on the air Tuesday that he had used a pillow years ago to smother a lover who was dying of AIDS, adding a startling contribution to the country’s debate on mercy killing. The Nottinghamshire Police force said it would investigate Ray Gosling’s claim. Under British law, assisting a suicide is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Gosling told a BBC television program that he and the unidentified man had made a pact. He said he smothered the man in his hospital bed to spare him pain.

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