MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An attorney for a former Minnesota nurse convicted of going online and encouraging two people to kill themselves said in a court document Wednesday that his client was merely supporting his alleged victims and had no influence on their actions.

William Melchert-Dinkel, 50, of Faribault, was convicted last year on two counts of aiding suicide. His attorney is asking the Minnesota Supreme Court to overturn those convictions. In court documents filed Wednesday, attorney Terry Watkins said Melchert-Dinkel did not directly participate in the suicides of an English man and a Canadian woman.