The law on suicide is out of kilter with modern society, says Richard Scorer
The Suicide Act 1961 (SA 1961) overturned the previous rule of law which made it a crime for a person to commit suicide. SA 1961, s 2(1) also provides that: “A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another, or an attempt by another to commit suicide, shall be liable on conviction or indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.” In recent weeks two very different cases have raised important questions about whether this part of SA 1961 needs to be reformed to reflect changes in society.
TEEN COPYCATS
The apparent copycat suicides of several young people in the South Wales town of have caused concern about whether websites and suicide chat rooms may be partly to blame. Within hours of the death of Natasha Randall, aged 17, a site dedicated to her name appeared on the web, with poems, photographs and tributes. Within a
