 Adams told the police that, to use his own term, he was in the practice of "easing the passing", something probably fairly common in the medical practice, but not discussed outside it in 1957.Devlin considered that, if Adams genuinely held the honest belief that he was easing suffering, this would not constitute murder.However, Hannam had already made up his mind, preferring the more dramatic interpretation of drugging patients into submission for monetary gain.