Reply To: Halachic Penalty for Attempted Murder

If a mentally competent Jew wanted to commit suicide, he would try to make sure noone saw him. Why? Why not let Bais Din finish the job, if he doesn’t succeed? Because even though he wants to commit suicide, most humans want to do it with the least amount of pain. If he isn’t successful, he wants to try it again himself; he doesn’t want Bais Din to do it for him, because their method of death was extremely Painful!

Maybe. Sometimes, however, people just need for others to do the job for them. Witness the phenomenon known as suicide-by-cop. I’m sure that being shot by a cop (who usually isn’t intentionally shooting to kill) isn’t terribly pleasant either.

The Wolf