Foggy guidelines won't help the dying  The DPP's explanations on
assisted suicide are just confusing. We need proper
parliamentary debate and intelligent legislation     • Jump to
comments ()  The strange jig around the matter of assisted
suicide continues. Keir Starmer, the director of public
prosecutions, has published interim guidelines that are open for
consultation. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Starmer says:  We
are proud of the way we temper justice with mercy. The decision
not to prosecute provides essential flexibility to prosecutors
... the critical question I have considered is: what are the
circumstances in which it is or is not in the public interest to
prosecute a person against whom there is enough evidence to
support the criminal offence of assisted suicide?  The problem,
however, is that in these guidelines, where there should be
clarity, confusion multiplies and a startling lack of
understanding of the origins of compassion and empathy is
revealed.  According to the guidelines, family memb