Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions has today said that, while there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction of Mark and Julie James in relation to the death by suicide of their son Daniel, such a prosecution is not in the public interest and no further action should be taken either against them or against a family friend who assisted them.
Keir Starmer, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, is to clarify whether people should be prosecuted for aiding a suicide following a landmark ruling by the Law Lords last week. It had been assumed that this guidance would affect only cases in which friends or relatives helped people to die abroad, such as at the Dignitas clinic in Zurich. However, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Starmer said the “broad principles” of his new guidelines would apply equally to acts of assisted suicide planned and carried out at home.
Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, has today said that while there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Alan Cutkelvin Rees and Dr Michael Irwin in relation to the death of Raymond Cutkelvin at a Dignitas clinic in Switzerland in February 2007, such a prosecution would not be in the public interest and no further action should be taken against them.