As the British General Medical Council announced it was revoking the license of Dr. Howard Martin for "professional misconduct," Martin admitted to the Daily Telegraph that he gave lethal morphine injections to patients, including his own son.

The council struck Martin off the medical register June 18 for giving "unjustifiably high doses" of morphine to 18 patients, according to The Independent. Martin had previously been tried for killing patients Harry Gittins, Frank Moss, and Stanley Weldon, but a jury found him not guilty in 2005.

Now, however, Martin admitted that he "hastened the deaths" of Gittins and Moss, along with his own son, Paul, who had cancer. "I don't believe I've killed any patients," he told the Telegraph. "I believe I made them comfortable in their hour of need." Martin called for the "reform" of British laws to allow people to die at home with "dignity" and the assistance of doctors.

The families of Martin's victims see his actions very differently. Gittins' son told BBC Radio 4's Today show that he wanted his father's death re-investigated (English law allows for a second trial if new evidence is found). "My dad was not in any pain and discomfort that day," Paul Gittins said. "There was no reason for him [Martin] to do what he did. My dad had no intention of wanting to die, definitely not."

Medical experts also called for further investigation into Martin's actions. "This is murder," toxicologist Robert Forrest told The Independent. "He admitted to murder in that interview and so I hope the police and CPS will take proper notice because he should face another trial. There are a lot of doctors who think that they are above the law."

Police officials and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are considering whether to reopen the previously tried cases and to investigate more deaths, according to the Telegraph. Their decision may take several weeks.

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