Legal Definitions - self-slaughter

Self-slaughter is a historical term that refers to the act of intentionally ending one's own life. In modern legal and medical contexts, the more commonly used term is suicide. It describes a situation where an individual deliberately takes actions with the express purpose of causing their own death.

• Example 1: A life insurance policy includes a provision stating that if the insured person dies by "self-slaughter" within the first two years of the policy, the beneficiaries will not receive the full death benefit.

  Explanation: This example illustrates how the concept of intentionally ending one's life, even if using the older term "self-slaughter," is used in contractual agreements to define specific conditions under which a payout might be limited or denied, based on the deliberate nature of the death.

• Example 2: During a historical criminal investigation from the late 1800s, a coroner's jury might have returned a verdict of "death by self-slaughter" after determining that the deceased deliberately jumped from a bridge.

  Explanation: This demonstrates the historical usage of the term in official legal proceedings to classify a death as intentionally caused by the deceased, distinguishing it from an accident or a death caused by another person.

• Example 3: A community mental health initiative might launch a campaign to raise awareness about preventing "self-slaughter" among young adults, focusing on early intervention and support services.

  Explanation: Here, "self-slaughter" refers to the intentional act of taking one's own life, highlighting the deliberate nature of the act that such public health efforts aim to prevent by addressing underlying mental health issues and providing resources.