Suicide legislation: Difference between revisions

Suicide (and thus also attempted suicide) was illegal under [[English Law]] but ceased to be an offence with the passing of the [[Suicide Act 1961]]; the same Act makes it an offence to assist a suicide. While the simple act of suicide is lawful the consequences of committing suicide might turn an individual event into an unlawful act, as in the case of Reeves v Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis [2000] 1 AC 360 <ref>[http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199899/ldjudgmt/jd990715/reeves01.htm House of Lords Judgement - Commissioners of Police for the Metropolis v. Reeves]</ref>, where a man in police custody hanged himself and was held equally liable with the police (a cell door defect enabled the hanging) for the loss suffered by his widow; the practical effect was to reduce the police damages liability by 50%.