Our local paper is filled with the deaths of an eye doctor, who shot his wife and then killed himself. They were indicted last week by a federal grand jury on suspicion of health care fraud, wire fraud and criminal conspiracy.

We are cautioned, by the experts, that suicide is not necessarily an admission of guilt.

"We don't know and you don't know and your readers don't know whether (the deaths) occurred because they were guilty and in effect didn't want to face the music, or because of what already is apparent, which is a tremendous loss of face and implication of guilt" says Lanny Berman, of American Association of Suicidology.

No statistical evidence has been assembled on people who commit suicide when accused of a crime, Berman said, but there have been cases of people who cannot tolerate losing a societal status.

It has everything to do with the psychological sense that they will no longer be viewed by others as having the respect and importance and value that they presumed they had prior to this public disclosure of potential wrongdoing."

And of course the paper is full of numbers to call for help in an emergency. Suicide always has such a high priority when it's sensationalized. ~sigh

I think the smartest thing I read was by a clinical social worker, Ruth Yarger, who said that what's most important is that people at risk understand that other choices exist. "When someone commits suicide, those left behind are often left looking for rationale they might not find. One of the reasons we don't understand is because we still think of options, but that person who is committing suicide does not see those options."

http://www.wsbt.com/