A US man who helped persuade an English man and a Canadian woman to commit suicide after finding them online has been given a jail term in Minnesota.
Ex-nurse William Melchert-Dinkel, 48, was convicted in March over the deaths of Mark Drybrough, 32, from Coventry, and Nadia Kajouji, 18, from Ontario.
The judge ordered him to spend an initial 320 days in prison and then for the next 10 years return to jail on the anniversaries of his victims' deaths.
His lawyer plans to lodge an appeal.
Melchert-Dinkel, who wiped away tears as he was sentenced, apologised in a statement read by his lawyer, Terry Watkins, and said he felt "shame and remorse".
The official sentence handed down by Judge Thomas Neuville was six-and-a-half years in jail, with most of it suspended unless Melchert-Dinkel violates the terms of his probation over the next 15 years.
The sentence was structured in such a way that he will have to spend two-day spells in prison on the anniversaries of the deaths of Mr Drybrough and Ms Kajouji over the next decade.
The judge said that while Melchert-Dinkel's actions were directly related to the victims' deaths, other factors were also involved.
Ms Kajouji's mother, Deborah Chevalier, told the Associated Press news agency she was disappointed the sentence was not longer.
Mr Watkins has said his client intends to appeal against the conviction on the grounds his remarks were shielded by the free speech protections of the US constitution.
Read More
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13289119
