United Kingdom Issues Factors for Prosecuting Those Who Assist a Suicide

On February 25, 2010, the Director of Public Prosecutions issued 16 factors that make a prosecution in England and Wales for assisting a suicide more likely along with 6 factors that make a prosecution less likely. 

The factors for prosecution appear below:

A prosecution is more likely to be required if: 

• the victim was under 18 years of age; 
• the victim did not have the capacity (as defined by the Mental Capacity Act 2005) to reach an informed decision to commit suicide; 
• the victim had not reached a voluntary, clear, settled and informed decision to commit suicide; 
• the victim had not clearly and unequivocally communicated his or her decision to commit suicide to the suspect; 
• the victim did not seek the encouragement or assistance of the suspect personally or on his or her own initiative; 
• the suspect was not wholly motivated by compassion; for example, the suspect was motivated by the prospect that he or she or a person closely connected to him or her stood to gain in some way from the death of the victim; 
• the suspect pressured the victim to commit suicide; 
• the suspect did not take reasonable steps to ensure that any other person had not pressured the victim to commit suicide; 
• the suspect had a history of violence or abuse against the victim; 
• the victim was physically able to undertake the act that constituted the assistance him or herself; 
• the suspect was unknown to the victim and encouraged or assisted the victim to commit or attempt to commit suicide by providing specific information via, for example, a website or publication; 
• the suspect gave encouragement or assistance to more than one victim who were not known to each other; 
• the suspect was paid by the victim or those close to the victim for his or her encouragement or assistance; 
• the suspect was acting in his or her capacity as a medical doctor, nurse, other healthcare professional, a professional carer [whether for payment or not], or as a person in authority, such as a prison officer, and the victim was in his or her care; 
• the suspect was aware that the victim intended to commit suicide in a public place where it was reasonable to think that members of the public may be present; 
• the suspect was acting in his or her capacity as a person involved in the management or as an employee (whether for payment or not) of an organisation or group, a purpose of which is to provide a physical environment (whether for payment or not) in which to allow another to commit suicide.

A prosecution is less likely to be required if:

• the victim had reached a voluntary, clear, settled and informed decision to commit suicide; 
• the suspect was wholly motivated by compassion; 
• the actions of the suspect, although sufficient to come within the definition of the offence, were of only minor encouragement or assistance; 
• the suspect had sought to dissuade the victim from taking the course of action which resulted in his or her suicide; 
• the actions of the suspect may be characterised as reluctant encouragement or assistance in the face of a determined wish on the part of the victim to commit suicide; 
• the suspect reported the victim’s suicide to the police and fully assisted them in their enquiries into the circumstances of the suicide or the attempt and his or her part in providing encouragement or assistance.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide, CPS, Feb. 2010; see also Jenny Booth, Assisted suicide: the new CPS guidelines, TimesOnline, Feb. 25, 2010.

More information on the assisted suicide issue in England and Wales can be found in my prior posts here, here, and here.