Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Re: self-murder laws

Most states have laws against suicide. At common law (the general law we adopted from England which still exists in any area in which a state legislature has not acted), suicide was called, "attempted self-murder." Since murder is the intentional, unlawful attempt to kill a human being, and since we are all human beings, if we try to kill ourselves, it was considered "self-murder" under old English law. When Florida was formed, and when we adopted the old English law (the "common law"), we inherited the crime of "self-murder."

It still exists today since, in Florida, the legislature has not enacted a specific law against suicide, though attempts have been made. You could probably learn more by visting your local law library or contacting the Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention in Tallahassee.