When I first read the headline, I thought to myself, “Great. Another famous person who’s twisted.” But then I read the article, and it made my heart go out to BBC host Ray Gosling.

On Monday, Gosling used the show Inside Out to confess to a murder he had committed many years ago. But it wasn’t a cut-and-dry, cold-hearted killing. The presenter smothered his gay lover who was afflicted with AIDS. Gosling had made a pact with the unnamed man to end his life if the pain due to AIDS became too much for him to handle.

Gosling explained the circumstances in a heart-breaking snippet of Inside Out, and I have to say that my heart goes out to the man. As he shared his story in a sad tone, the female host asked him why he did it—why he smothered his lover with a pillow.

He struggled to tell his reasons why, and I have to give him major kudos for having the guts to make this confession on television.

I know that a lot of people will focus on the face that Gosling is gay, and that he killed a male lover. But I don’t think that’s the point. The point is that Gosling chose to perform a mercy killing for someone he loved.

I can’t imagine being in that circumstance…watching a loved one wither away from a disease as scary as AIDS. I would like to think that if it came to the point where my husband was in that much pain and there was no hope for a cure or any way to ease the pain, I would help him find peace.