Woman, 79, who fatally shot terminally ill husband explains why she wouldn't change her actions

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

An elderly Florida woman jailed for killing her terminally ill husband as part of a failed murder-suicide pact in 2023 has spoken out after her release.

Ellen Gilland, 79, was arrested for shooting her husband, Jerry Gilland, then 77, in a hospital room in Daytona Beach after smuggling in his gun and firing a single, fatal shot.

Police believed the couple had agreed to a murder-suicide pact, and Gilland had planned to shoot herself first but 'couldn't go through with it'.

After the shooting, authorities claimed that Gilland locked herself inside the hospital room and refused to put her weapon down, although she did not threaten to open fire on anybody else. The standoff reportedly lasted for hours.

Ellen Gilland was sentenced to one year in prison after fatally shooting her husband (Fox 35 Orlando)

Gilland was sentenced to one year in prison and 12 years on probation due to the disruption sown among bystanders. She entered a no contest plea to manslaughter, aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated assault on law enforcement.

Three years on, and now out of prison, Gilland was asked by Fox 35 Orlando whether she would change her actions now.

"There wasn't anything else to do," she replied.

Gilland said that she had sat with her husband, who she named her 'best friend', and talked to him for a while before killing him. Afterwards she could not go through with the planned suicide.

"In the 76 years before this event happened, I had never been in trouble in my life, and never planned to hurt anyone," she added.

Gilland admitted that she was unable to take care of Jerry, who she'd met in middle school, and she was dealing with vision issues and depression.

Gilland met her husband in middle school (Fox 35 Orlando)

Talking about the aftermath of the event, she admitted that 'things didn't progress the way I would have thought they would'. When hospital staff entered the room, Gilland was in a state of extreme distress and an armed standoff between herself and the police began.

Although the senior was originally charged with first degree murder, her charges were reduced by a grand jury. Six weeks into her one-year sentence, Gilland suffered a heart attack, put down to stress, and completed the rest of her time in an infirmary.

"I'm accepting the consequences," she told Fox 35. "I don't want people feeling sorry for me. I did what I did."

Now released, Gilland has started volunteering at a local animal shelter, and is doing court-ordered community service while advocating for assisted suicide to be legalized in some capacity. She avoids reliving the day, and wants people to know that, despite her conviction, she doesn't think of herself a violent person.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.

If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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