Dr. David Lingard was a doctor who was well known in New York for being an advocate of the use of suicide by the terminally ill.
History[]
He was a doctor who had also assisted the suicide of a patient, which he videotaped. He was convicted of and served time in prison. He was eventually released on parole under the condition that he refrain from assisting suicides in any manner.
He committed suicide while testifying at the trial of his daughter Mila, who was on trial for her role in a publicized assisted suicide. He did so as a political statement of his beliefs, and it also resulted in a mistrial for his daughter. (L&O: "Called Home")