Cullen stated he administered overdoses to patients in order to spare them from being "coded" — going into cardiac or respiratory arrest and being listed as a Code Blue emergency. He told detectives that he could not bear witness to or hear about attempts at saving a victim's life. Cullen also stated that he gave patients overdoses so that he could end their suffering and prevent hospital personnel from dehumanizing them. However, not all of his victims were terminal patients. Some, like Gall, had been expected to recover before Cullen killed them. Nurse Lynn Tester described many of the victims as "people on the mend" in a police interview.