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From: desj@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (David desJardins)
Newsgroups: net.suicide,net.legal
Subject: Re: Painless Suicide Methods: Are we discussing an illegal topic?
Message-ID: <12575@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sun, 23-Mar-86 03:47:38 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.12575
Posted: Sun Mar 23 03:47:38 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Mar-86 03:30:19 EST
References: <430@batcomputer.TN.CORNELL.EDU>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: desj@brahms.UUCP (David desJardins)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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Xref: watmath net.suicide:925 net.legal:3159

In article <430@batcomputer.TN.CORNELL.EDU>
   garry%cadif-oak@cu-arpa.cornell.edu.arpa writes:
>Why on earth is suicide still illegal??? 
>
>Legally, it seems silly.  Do (presumably unsuccessful) suiciders *ever*
>get prosecuted in the United States?  If not, why is there a law on the
>subject?  Is there any state in which the law reckons an attempted
>suicide as an automatic proof of insanity (as opposed to reckoning it
>a crime?)  Is there any state in which suicide is legal?

   The reason for making suicide a crime is to give the government (i.e.
the police) the authority to try to prevent it.
   I don't know whether I agree with this or not, but this is clearly the
rationale.  I don't think people are often prosecuted, but note that charging
an individual with such a crime gives the police the authority to detain him
(to seek appropriate care and to prevent a repeated attempt).

   -- David desJardins