Ryan Routh, the man convicted in the plot to assassinate President Donald Trump, has asked to be sent to a prison in a state where assisted suicide is legal, saying he wants the option of medical aid in dying. His filing landed with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, but federal officials ultimately decide where a defendant is housed. The request arrives after a swift conviction on multiple counts and an episode in court where Routh tried to harm himself, and he faces a life sentence at his December 18, 2025, sentencing.
The request Routh made is stark and unsettling, and it raises questions about accountability, custody, and public safety. In court filings he described himself as a “constant failure” and asked to be placed in a facility that would allow assisted suicide. That language is hard to reconcile with the seriousness of his crimes and the need for the justice system to protect both society and the defendant while serving justice fairly.
Routh’s guilty verdict came quickly and decisively, with jurors finding him guilty on all counts prosecutors brought against him. He now faces sentencing that could include life behind bars, and the courtroom episode where he grabbed a pen and tried to stab himself underscored real concerns about his mental state.
Ryan Routh . . . told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in a winding request that he is a “constant failure” and thus wishes to be placed in a prison facility where assisted suicide, often called medical aid in dying, is allowed. He said he “still hold(s) out hope” that his life may be traded for American prisoners being held by a foreign adversary — a suggestion he made ahead of his trial and claimed he has made to “countless Ministry of Foreign Affairs” — but has found his requests to be “ineffective.”
That request also included a bizarre plea to be traded for prisoners abroad, which he framed as giving his life some strategic value. In another quoted passage he wrote, “Trade me for a Palestinian prisoner in Israel to have my spot in Hawaii, or a POW of Ukraine suffering in Russia or any prisoner anywhere that is suffering. I’m unaware of prisoners in Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar or all the other places of conflict but trade meanywhere (sic).” Those words reveal a confused sense of mission and a willingness to barter his own life in ways courts were never meant to adjudicate.
Trade me for a Palestinian prisoner in Israel to have my spot in Hawaii, or a POW of Ukraine suffering in Russia or any prisoner anywhere that is suffering. I’m unaware of prisoners in Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar or all the other places of conflict but trade meanywhere (sic).
Routh also pleaded with officials not to let his attempt at taking his life be wasted. He wrote, “Do not let me take my own life and it have zero benefit for humanity or mankind,” a line that mixes self-pity with a disturbing desire to instrumentalize his death. That kind of statement complicates how custodial officials balance safety, medical ethics, and the inmate’s rights.
Do not let me take my own life and it have zero benefit for humanity or mankind,
It is important to be clear about who makes the final call on placements. Judges can offer recommendations, but the Federal Bureau of Prisons has the authority to decide where federal inmates are housed. That separation exists for a reason: operational assessments, medical capacity, and security needs are practical matters that fall to corrections professionals, not trial judges.
Judges can make nonbinding recommendations about where a defendant lands, but the Federal Bureau of Prisons ultimately makes the decision.
Routh’s behavior in custody so far has been alarming enough to justify close supervision. After the guilty verdict, he “grabbed a pen and attempted to stab himself in the neck with it, prompting U.S. marshals to intervene,” an incident that shows an immediate risk of self-harm. That episode will factor into how prison medical and mental health staff evaluate him and whether additional protections or treatment are required.
The legal consequences he faces are severe and appropriate for the conduct he was convicted of committing. As one report put it, “The failed assassin faces life in prison after his swift conviction on all five counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and possessing a firearm to carry out a violent crime.” The courts and corrections system will now have to handle a dangerous offender who is also presenting mental-health challenges.
The failed assassin faces life in prison after his swift conviction on all five counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and possessing a firearm to carry out a violent crime.
Officials will need to weigh Routh’s request against regulations, available facilities, and public-safety obligations. A request to be placed where assisted suicide is legal touches on ethics, law, and corrections policy at once, and it is not a straightforward matter to grant. For the public, the priority is clear: ensure justice is carried out, protect citizens and staff, and make sure any medical decisions are made according to law and sound medical practice.
