Attempted Suicide as Evidence of Guilt in Criminal Cases: the Legal and Psychological Views

The purpose of this article is to test the advisability of admitting evidence of attempted suicide by determining whether is is relevant to a fair inference of conscious & actual guilt &, if so, whether any of the recognized rules of exclusion in American law would bar its admission. It is concluded that any connection between attempted suicide & actual guilt is so tenuous evidence of the attempt should be excluded in all cases. (55 notes)