More Murders with Forged Advance Directives & POLSTs

I have written about many cases where a patient forged an advance directive or POLST in order to finish "killing" someone who did not die after an initial attack (e.g., here). This week, the New Jersey Supreme Court considered another one.   

Celestine Payne committed many murders. But one was not successful. She convinced a her tenant to name her the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. Once the policy was in place, she offered her daughter's boyfriend $60,000 to kill the tenant. The boyfriend stabbed the tenant and left him on the street to die. But he survived. While the tenant was in the hospital in critical condition, Payne went to the hospital, pretended to be his mother, and signed a DNR order. 

Payne has been in prison for 26 years. But based on this and a long list of other egregious conduct, the court affirmed a trial court judgment denying Payne’s petition for compassionate release.