Suicide and the Law by Elizabeth Wicks

Author:Elizabeth Wicks
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2023-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

VI.Conclusion

In conclusion, it is undeniable that Article 2 imposes legal obligations on certain authorities to take reasonable steps to prevent suicide. This obligation arises on the basis of foreseeability of risk, and applies not only to prisoners and other detainees but also to mental health patients (and perhaps others in circumstances where it is the authorities who have created the risk of suicide). By looking beyond the confines of the prison context, we can see that the lives of prisoners are protected from self-imposed risk not due to the specific onerous conditions of prisons, but due to a perception of vulnerability and the assumption of control. It remains, however, the existence of a mental disorder that seems to serve as a necessary condition for the operational duty.

For all the reasons considered in the previous chapter, this is regrettable. A focus on mental capacity, bolstered by the requirements of diachronic continuity, as argued in chapter four, would be entirely suitable for the prison context. It would shift the focus from a diagnosis of mental illness to decision-making capacity. While the usual requirement would apply to prisoners, namely the need to follow a decision-making process that is rational, consistent, forward-looking and reflective, the challenges posed by the prison environment mean that most attempts at suicide in prison would not meet this standard. Many cases will not present the internal coherence between past and present wishes and the identity of the person expressing a desire to die, nor will they sufficiently take into account the implications for their future (perhaps post-release) self. This is not to argue that prison suicide does not pose unique challenges, but rather that those very challenges can better be resolved by means of a stringent application of the standards argued for in chapter four. This would avoid the pitfalls of relying upon an ambiguous vulnerability concept, equating mental illness with a lack of capacity, or casting doubt upon the relevance of autonomy within prison.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.