 In line with Devlin's legal direction on the double effect principle, as Mrs Morrell was dying, restoring her to health was no longer possible, so Adams could lawfully give her treatment to relieve pain and suffering even if that shortened her life.Although this might cover treatment from the start of November 1950 up to the last 24 hours of her life, it might have left the last two injections in doubt at the time of his trial.However, Devlin's 1962 clarification of the principle, that a medical treatment designed to relieve the pains of death was a proper treatment, would apply to these final injections also.