In Minnesota, a former nurse who met people on-line and never in person convinced
two people to commit suicide. He was sentenced to a year in jail under that states
laws against assisting a suicide. He will also be required to return to jail to spend the
anniversaries of their deaths in jail. Do you consider his on-line communications to
be assisting a suicide, sufficient to justify criminal punishment?
What will be an ideal response?
How much
conversation do you consider necessary to meet the requirement that the person
assisted a suicide? Do you believe you have a moral obligation when you
encounter suicidal people on line to try to talk them out of it? Do you have a moral
obligation to attempt to contact their friends and family to inform them of the suicidal
tendencies? Are your moral obligations different for strangers threatening suicide
and close family members or friends?