History
In the fifth century, self-killing was considered a sin. This is credited to St. Augustine who wrote The City of God starting in 413 A.D. ending in 426 A.D. He based his prohibition of self-killing on the Sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” – David Daube
The sin condemnation did not work in the 5th Century, and it hasn’t worked for 1600 years.
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In the ensuing centuries, the penalties for killing oneself were: denial of funeral rights, denial of burial in church cemeteries, desecrating their bodies, and burying the mutilated remains at a crossroads. This custom continued for hundreds of years, not ending until 1823. – Richard Kastenbaum
This custom did not work.
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In 1270 A.D., the first recorded criminal ordinance made self-killing a crime. This took place in the city of Lille, France. – David Daube
This time period created the word ‘commit.’ This practice continued on the law records for over 6 centuries. It didn’t work then, and it didn’t work for over 600 years.
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In 1618, Edmund Bolton, came close to using the word ‘choice.’ – David Daube
A person with a normal healthy functioning brain does not take their own life. When someone takes their own life, it is to end the pain. This is the end result of a brain disease.
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The birth of the word suicide was in 1652 A.D. If understood in accordance with the rules of Latin word-building, suicide would suggest ‘the killing of a pig.’ Credit can be traced to an English physician/writer named Walter Charleton. – David Daube
I think this example demonstrates the gravity of those who do not and will not try to understand that the taking of one’s own life is not normal. It is the result of a brain disorder.
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The United Kingdom de-criminalized self-killing in the Suicide Act of 1961. In the early 1990’s, two states in the United States still had statues making suicide a crime. Today, no state has a statue that states suicide is a crime. – Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Although suicide has been officially de-criminalized, when someone takes their own life today, it is treated as a crime scene by law enforcement officers.