3. Homicide-Related Offences - Suicide

Question 1

Outline section 179?

Answer 1

179 Aiding and abetting suicide
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years who—
(a) Incites, counsels, or procures any person to commit suicide, if that person commits or
attempts to commit suicide in consequence thereof; or
(b) Aids or abets any person in the commission of suicide.

Question 2

Outline section 180?

Answer 2

180 Suicide pact
(1) Every one who in pursuance of a suicide pact kills any other person is guilty of manslaughter and not of murder, and is liable accordingly.
(2) Where 2 or more persons enter into a suicide pact, and in pursuance of it one or more of them kills himself, any survivor is guilty of being a party to a death under a suicide
pact contrary to this subsection and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years; but he shall not be convicted of an offence against section 179 of this Act.
(3) For the purposes of this section the term suicide pact means a common agreement between 2 or more persons having for its object the death of all of them, whether or
not each is to take his own life; but nothing done by a person who enters into a suicide pact shall be treated as done by him in pursuance of the pact unless it is done while he has the settled intention of dying in pursuance of the pact.

Question 3

Outline culpability of another person in section 179?

Answer 3

Section 179 makes it an offence for a person (Person A) to assist another person (Person B) to commit suicide without any intention of Person A
committing suicide themselves

Question 4

Outline culpability of another person in section 180(1)?

Answer 4

Section 180(1) makes it an offence to enter into a suicide pact, and only one person dies as a result of an action by another person.

Question 5

Outline culpability as it relates to section 180(2)?

Answer 5

Section 180(2) makes it an offence for two people to enter into a suicid pact, where they are both responsible for the actions that caused one of their deaths (Person A), and where one person survives (Person B).

Question 6

Provide an example of aiding and abetting suicide?

Must Know

Answer 6

A person giving a tetraplegic an overdose of sleeping pills on the latter person’s request.