Legal Definitions - Suicide

Suicide refers to the deliberate and intentional act by which an individual ends their own life.

Legally, suicide is generally no longer considered a crime in the United States. However, the legal treatment of related actions can vary significantly by state. For instance, some states may still classify attempted suicide as a criminal offense. Furthermore, assisting another person to commit suicide (known as assisted suicide) is a crime in all U.S. states, though physician-assisted suicide is an exception in certain jurisdictions where it is legally permitted under specific circumstances.

• Example 1: After experiencing a profound personal loss and struggling with severe depression, an individual named Alex meticulously plans and then consumes a lethal dose of medication they had stockpiled over several months.

  This illustrates suicide because Alex's actions were both deliberate and intentional, directly leading to the end of their own life through a self-administered method.

• Example 2: A person named Jamie, facing overwhelming financial debt and feeling hopeless about their future, drives their car at high speed into a concrete barrier with the express purpose of causing a fatal collision.

  This demonstrates suicide as Jamie consciously chose and executed an action with the clear and singular intent of ending their own existence.

• Example 3: Sarah, suffering from a chronic and debilitating illness, makes a conscious decision to jump from a tall building, having left a note explaining her intention to end her suffering.

  This is an example of suicide because Sarah's act of jumping was a deliberate, self-initiated action taken with the specific intent to cause her own death.