Martin cried as the guilty verdict was returned

40-year-old nurse Lesley Martin now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The attempted murder charge dates back to 1999 when Martin's 69-year-old mother was dying of bowel cancer.

Supporters of mercy killing who were in court gasped as the verdict was read. The case has reignited the issue in the South Pacific nation.

Book confession

Martin, an intensive care nurse, cared for her mother Joy for five months before she died.

Three years later Martin published a book about the experience entitled "To Die Like a Dog".

I don't know what else I can do to get New Zealanders to get off their bums and start taking part in the push towards humane legislation Lesley Martin

In it, she said that she had twice tried to kill her mother to ease her suffering - once injecting her with morphine and then by trying to suffocate her with a pillow.

Joy Martin died the next day.

It was after reading the book that New Zealand police decided to pursue a homicide investigation.

A post-mortem examination revealed the mother died of respiratory arrest, possibly due to morphine poisoning or pneumonia.

Emotional scenes

The 12-member jury at Wanganui High Court found Martin guilty of attempting to kill her mother with a lethal dose of morphine, but found her innocent of trying to suffocate her.

Martin was released on bail pending sentencing on 30 April.

As the guilty verdict was returned after more than five hours of deliberation, Martin became overwrought, sobbing and clutching her son Matt.

In the public gallery, her supporters gasped and one woman wept.

Prominent campaigner

As she left the dock, an emotional Martin shouted out that the verdict was unjust:

"I don't know what else I can do to get New Zealanders to get off their bums and start taking part in the push towards humane legislation," she said outside the court.

Martin, who says her actions were in keeping with her mother's wishes, helped set up Exit New Zealand, a voluntary euthanasia lobby group.

She has campaigned widely on the issue, speaking at debates on the benefits of voluntary euthanasia throughout New Zealand.

"This is not just my trial," she recently wrote. "This is the trial of everyone who's ever made a promise that they would help someone die gently if necessary, and the trial of every doctor who has helped and remained silent."