A mere legality

[Baker, John]

Under traditional English common law, suicide was murder, and an unsuccessful suicide could be prosecuted like any other attempted murder.   Successful suicide was also a crime, but one typically without a surviving perpetrator.

Hamlet wasn't worried about common law punishment, but about the religious consequences, since he didn't want to go to hell.  Suicides also were barred from consecrated ground; I believe they typically were buried by the roadside.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Joel S. Berson
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 4:28 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: A mere legality

At 2/20/2012 03:00 PM, Ronald Butters wrote:
>Keeping in mind that Hamlet tells us that the Almighty has fixed His
>command against self-slaughter, it seems more likely that the felony
>is attempted suicide, not suicide.

As I suggested.  But now I see another question -- if being convicted
of a felony disqualifies someone from something, such as voting, or
inheriting according to the terms of a will, can someone who has
succeeded in suicide be judged a felon via a trial by law?  (Sounds
like a long-lost book by Dickens.  Or Dorothy Sayers.)

Joel

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