--- On Thu, 4/12/08, Charles Haynes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
From: Charles Haynes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [silk] Conviction for attempted suicide
To: [email protected]
Date: Thursday, 4 December, 2008, 2:08 AM
On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 4:40 AM, Srini Ramakrishnan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> P.S. As another example of the wrong kind of blind justice, I never
> really grasped the need to convict someone for attempted suicide.
I recently read an explanation that finally made sense. In a
historical context in feudal Europe, the king commanded homage from
his nobles, and the nobles were owed homage from their vassals. As
such unless you were sovereign you owed service to someone, and by
trying to kill yourself you deprived your liege of your service. (If
you weren't free you didn't owe knights service, but if you weren't
free, then you weren't free to kill yourself either.)
-- Charles
A bit far-fetched, surely? The religious reason makes more sense; it was a sin
to take one's own life, and so punished in law. There was no law against
attempted suicide in Roman law (on the contrary, it was an honourable and
well-established 'way out' in Rome), only in subsequent canon law, and,
following that, in civil law.
At a rather more tentative level, I understand that Russian law at a point of
time strictly forbade serfs to undertake any personal step without the
permission of the landlord, including, in a technical sense, suicide.
Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to
http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
