PROSECUTIONS AGAINST those who help the terminally ill to die in England and Wales will not be taken if they can show that they acted from compassion, the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer has ruled.
However, the DPP has rejected charges from pro-life groups that he has opened the way to euthanasia, and denied that he had bypassed the Houses of Parliament, which has not passed legislation allowing assisted suicide.
The new prosecuting guidelines have been drawn up following legal action by multiple sclerosis sufferer Debbie Purdy, who wants to be sure that her husband will not be prosecuted if he helps her to die. Though she lost cases before the High Court and the Court of Appeal, she eventually won before the Law Lords, who instructed the DPP to clarify the grounds on which prosecutions would, or would not, be taken.
“The case of Purdy did not change the law. This policy does not in any way decriminalise the offence of encouraging or assisting suicide. Nothing in this policy can be taken to amount to an assurance that a person will be immune from prosecution,” said the DPP’s document.
Under the changes, 16 grounds will be taken into consideration, including the need for a clear declaration by the person dying that he or she wanted to die; the extent of the actions of the person aiding the deceased; and the level of co-operation later with the police.
A prosecution is less likely to be taken if “it is shown that compassion was the only driving force behind his or her actions” – even if the person may “have gained some benefit” from the deceased’s death.
In addition, the deceased will need to be over 18 and in a mental state that allowed them to reach an informed decision.
Among the 16 factors tending in favour of prosecution are considerations relating to the victim’s age being under 18; the victim’s mental capacity to reach an informed decision; and whether the suspect was “wholly motivated by compassion”.
Mr Starmer said: “It does not open the door for euthanasia. It does not override the will of parliament. What it does is to provide a clear framework for prosecutors to decide which cases should proceed to court, and which should not.
Motive was the key factor, he said. “Was this an act that was driven by or motivated by gain or not?”
Under existing law, someone who “aids, abets, counsels or procures the suicide of another or an attempt by another to commit suicide” can be sentenced to up to 14 years in jail on conviction.
The law on assisted suicide remains unchanged after yesterday’s moves, though the guidance available to Crown Prosecution Service lawyers deciding on whether to take a prosecution or not has changed.
Mercy killings, where the consent of the deceased was not given beforehand, will remain illegal, while groups such as Dignitas in Switzerland, which have helped hundreds of people to take their own lives, will still not be allowed to operate in England and Wales.