Legal Questions

[blue]

I was just wondering about the following:

a) if I advise a person where to purchase a legal product (like SN) on this forum and they purchase and ultimately succeed with the suicide act, can I be held legally accountable in any way of "encouraging" or "assisting" in a suicide bearing an investigation?

b) hypothetically, if I were to be present with someone while they preformed a suicidal act, as a source of comfort, would I then be held legally accountable in any way?

I'm curious as to what is considered legally acceptable vs unacceptable.

Thank you.

 

[Flume]

Killing yourself is not illegal, but helping another person is... now, what "helping" is I don't know. You need to look this up yourself it's different from place to place.

It's fucking bullshit but that's how it looks like mostly.

 

[passenger27]

I've read if you didn't participate it wasn't against the law. The bad thing is there's nobody around to say you didn't if the 2 of you are alone. Cops will be cops, you know. I've never understood it. Maybe they mean in a crowd instead of just the 2 of you.

 

[Carina]

It all depends on your area.

As an example for 'B'-- some places could consider lack of stopping a suicide to be assisting. Others may say there's no way to really know if it happened before/after you left so just ignore it. You never know--you'd mainly have to talk to a lawyer for exact response in your area.

 

[Thereisnothing]

I dont know if you advise someone where to buy something to use if it was legal to buy, that, that would be construed as assisting or encouraging. I mean slightly different example but if someone say asked me where to buy something whatever it might be, say a set of kitchen knives which I thought were best buy, well they could take my advice and opt for the ones and supplier I recommended BUT it wouldn't be my fault if they then used the knives for anything more than their culinary uses. Do you see what I mean. If you advised someone where to get SN, then I cant see how you could be held responsible in anyway as you have not forced anyone to purchase it.

If you were with someone at the time of their suicidal act, for a comfort then in theory you are just there with them. However I dont know how it could be proven if you had anything to do with the actual act or not, forensics might be able to tell. I am no expert but also laws differ from country to country. I recall a case in UK where someone went to court for being at the end when their mother in law passed. She at the end was too weak to do what she had planned herself, so he had to help her, which in UK law meant that he had assisted in her suicide. Had he have just been with her and she could've done it all herself they said he probably wouldn't have got sent to prison. Its a difficult one. I would hope in any law or country that someone could be with someone at the end for support and comfort and not get into any trouble. Also society live with differing morals and right v wrong, what one may find acceptable another wouldn't.

This is why so many people opt to go to Dignitas in Switzerland and places, so they can do it all legally and with peace, obviously not everyone can be in that situation to do so or wish to.

Hope this may have helped or not.

 

[blue]

I dont know if you advise someone where to buy something to use if it was legal to buy, that, that would be construed as assisting or encouraging. I mean slightly different example but if someone say asked me where to buy something whatever it might be, say a set of kitchen knives which I thought were best buy, well they could take my advice and opt for the ones and supplier I recommended BUT it wouldn't be my fault if they then used the knives for anything more than their culinary uses. Do you see what I mean. If you advised someone where to get SN, then I cant see how you could be held responsible in anyway as you have not forced anyone to purchase it.

If you were with someone at the time of their suicidal act, for a comfort then in theory you are just there with them. However I dont know how it could be proven if you had anything to do with the actual act or not, forensics might be able to tell. I am no expert but also laws differ from country to country. I recall a case in UK where someone went to court for being at the end when their mother in law passed. She at the end was too weak to do what she had planned herself, so he had to help her, which in UK law meant that he had assisted in her suicide. Had he have just been with her and she could've done it all herself they said he probably wouldn't have got sent to prison. Its a difficult one. I would hope in any law or country that someone could be with someone at the end for support and comfort and not get into any trouble. Also society live with differing morals and right v wrong, what one may find acceptable another wouldn't.

This is why so many people opt to go to Dignitas in Switzerland and places, so they can do it all legally and with peace, obviously not everyone can be in that situation to do so or wish to.

Hope this may have helped or not.

Thanks for taking the time to write this thoughtful reply.

 

[Quarky00]

Depends on jurisdiction and local officers. Even providing emotional comfort could be considered assistance (person would not commit suicide alone). Could be overlooked. But usually suicides are at least investigated. This has been discussed:

https://sanctioned-suicide.net/threads/ctb-enquiry-someone-being-with-me.28655/

(a) If you knew this could be used to ctb you are at risk.

 

[k75]

B would be considered assisting in pretty much any instance. It doesn't matter if you're actively helping the person or merely providing companionship.

People with suicide partners who unfortunately survived the attempt have been charged with assisting.

 

[Moonicide]

A) This whole website is all about giving advice and providing resources, but we aren't encouraging suicide. We're neutral on the stance, so in that aspect you wouldn't be considered accountable for that. As it was their actions that lead to their death in the end.

B) It depends on how you plan it and how cautious you are. I'll be in a call with a dear friend of mine I met on here, but we will be using alt accounts when I do ctb so they can deactivate both accounts when I'm gone... Doing it in person is a bit more risky.

 

[PhilosOfDoom]

I was just wondering about the following:

a) if I advise a person where to purchase a legal product (like SN) on this forum and they purchase and ultimately succeed with the suicide act, can I be held legally accountable in any way of "encouraging" or "assisting" in a suicide bearing an investigation?

b) hypothetically, if I were to be present with someone while they preformed a suicidal act, as a source of comfort, would I then be held legally accountable in any way?

I'm curious as to what is considered legally acceptable vs unacceptable.

Thank you.

Unanswerable. If you wanted to get accurate answers, you'd have to compromise location privacy and give us your jurisdiction. In the U.S, it varies by state. Others, it may be a federal act like in Scotland with the Suicide Act 1961, which states anything that "assists" someone in their act will hold you liable, whether attempt or success. I'd recommend to consult your state's or country's legislature.

 

[Lostnotfound]

I was just wondering about the following:

a) if I advise a person where to purchase a legal product (like SN) on this forum and they purchase and ultimately succeed with the suicide act, can I be held legally accountable in any way of "encouraging" or "assisting" in a suicide bearing an investigation?

b) hypothetically, if I were to be present with someone while they preformed a suicidal act, as a source of comfort, would I then be held legally accountable in any way?

I'm curious as to what is considered legally acceptable vs unacceptable.

Thank you.

I am uk and have looked into this and spoken to police about it. In general if you advise someone where to purchase a legal product in order to ctb, whether they are successful or not this is illegal and classed as assisted suicide and you are liable to prosecution. Any encouragement, verbal or otherwise and any assistance is classed as an act and is illegal.

If you were to be present with someone but did not actively do anything, just 'present' this is not assisted suicide and you are not liable however you may be asked to prove it.

Not calling for assistance, ambulance etc is not a crime and is not liable to prosecution.

 

[HadEnough1974]

I was just wondering about the following:

a) if I advise a person where to purchase a legal product (like SN) on this forum and they purchase and ultimately succeed with the suicide act, can I be held legally accountable in any way of "encouraging" or "assisting" in a suicide bearing an investigation?

b) hypothetically, if I were to be present with someone while they preformed a suicidal act, as a source of comfort, would I then be held legally accountable in any way?

I'm curious as to what is considered legally acceptable vs unacceptable.

Thank you.

I'd say it depends on the country you live in.

 

[Throwmyselfaway]

Look into your local laws. But from what I've heard at least in the US you can be charged with assisted suicide if you do not intervene.

 

[keiichidono]

Yes if you are left alive after a suicide someone will be looking to blame you even if it's their fault and there's a suicide note blaming them not you

 

[Lostnotfound]

UK law - as previously stated