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Husband spared prison in slaying of ailing wife
By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
"My mother was my father's life, really," Micklos, 58, told Circuit Judge Ric Howard. "He couldn't stand to watch her not be able to breathe." Ruth Micklos, 80, had been gravely ill for years. Within the past 10 years, she had suffered two strokes, an inoperable brain tumor, kidney problems and congestive heart failure. Her back had been broken twice and she was in indescribable pain, her daughter said. So on the night of March 7, 2001, Clifford Micklos shot his wife in the head with a .25-caliber German Mauser pistol. He said it was what she had wanted. Indicted by a grand jury for manslaughter, Clifford Micklos, 86, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence that did not include jail time. Howard accepted the plea agreement Wednesday and sentenced Micklos to two years of house arrest followed by 13 years of probation. Micklos has been living with his daughter in Waco, Texas, since April and will be allowed to serve his sentence there. Assistant State Attorney Don Scaglione said his office approved the agreement after reviewing Ruth Micklos' medical history and listening to Patricia Micklos, who did not want to see her father go to jail. "This particular sentence is going to do justice in this particular case," Scaglione said. The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. According to defense attorney Charles Vaughn, his client is in extremely poor health and would not survive incarceration. Clifford Micklos wept as he told the judge what went through his mind that night. "It was just like I was a wound-up doll or something," he said, his voice trembling. "I wish someone would have blown their horn outside to stop me." Ruth Micklos had been in and out of nursing homes and hospitals, but preferred to stay in the Beverly Hills home she shared with her husband. One stay at a nursing home left her covered in bedsores, Patricia Micklos said. The family asked about hospice care but doctors said it wasn't yet time. "What was I going to do?" Clifford Micklos asked, angrily. "He didn't even know. . . . I can't see letting a person die in agony. You wouldn't even let an animal die like that." Indeed, it was the medical profession that drew the strongest criticism from both Clifford Micklos and his daughter. After the hearing, Patricia Micklos said laws should be changed to protect people who are dying and in pain. "I wish doctors were allowed to help people in their final moments," she said. Immediately after shooting his wife, Micklos dialed 911 and told an emergency dispatcher that his wife didn't want to live anymore. Howard commended him for owning up to the crime, but reminded him that it was still against the law. "What you did was wrong and you're going to be sanctioned," Howard said. In addition to the probation and a $500 fine, Micklos is also prohibited from owning a weapon. He tearfully asked the judge for permission to keep a knife he fashioned out of Japanese fighter planes during World War II. Howard agreed.
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