CAN ONE CHOOSE THE TIME OR MANNER OF ONE’S DEATH?
Until the passing of the 1961 Suicide Act suicide and attempted suicide were criminal offences in the United Kingdom, although there was not much that could be done about it if it was successful. Today suicide is no longer a criminal offence, but life insurance policies will not pay out in such cases. Although suicide is not a criminal offence, assisting suicide is. The Director of Public Prosecutions may seek the imprisonment for up to 14 years of anyone who aids, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another or an attempt by another to commit suicide. No matter how heart-rending the circumstances, euthanasia (sometimes called mercy killing) is also illegal and because of the rule that no one can profit financially from their own crime, anyone who engages in mercy killing not only risks imprisonment but will be unable to inherit from the deceased’s estate. The positive act of killing without the deceased’s consent is, of course, always illegal under English law, but there is gene
