National Briefs 5/23

Father sentenced to 100 years for poisoning 2 children

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) " A Georgia man was sentenced to 100 years in prison for poisoning his two children to extort money from Campbell Soup Co.

William Cunningham was sentenced Thursday after a jury found him guilty of five counts of cruelty to children and two counts of aggravated assault, said Kellie Perry, a clerk at the Clayton County Superior Court.

The girl and boy, then 18 months old and 3 years old, were hospitalized after Cunningham fed them soup tainted with prescription drugs and lighter fluid.

On one occasion, authorities said he used the prescription drugs Prozac and Amitriptyline " both used to treat depression " to poison the children.

Cunningham was arrested in March 2006. According to prosecutors, the former dump truck driver called Campbell in January 2006 and threatened to sue the company because its soup was contaminated.

He pleaded guilty in 2007 to a federal charge of making false claims against the company.

Cancer patient is first to die under suicide law in Washington

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) " A 66-year-old woman with terminal cancer has become the first person to die under Washington state's new assisted suicide law, an advocacy group said Friday.

Linda Fleming, of Sequim, died Thursday night after taking drugs prescribed under the "Death with Dignity" law that took effect in March, said Compassion & Choices of Washington.

The organization said Fleming was diagnosed last month with advanced pancreatic cancer. She would have had to have been diagnosed by two doctors as terminal in order to qualify for assisted suicide.

The group said Fleming died at home with her family, her dog and her physician at her bedside.

"The pain became unbearable, and it was only going to get worse," Fleming said in a statement released by the organization.