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SUICIDE Definition & Legal Meaning

Definition & Citations:

Suicide is the willful and voluntary act of a person who understands the physical nature of the act, and intends by it to accomplish the result of self-destruction. Nimick v. Mutual Life Ins. Co., 10 Am. Law Reg. (N. S.) 101, Fed. Cas. No. 10,266. Suicide is the deliberate termination of one’s existence, while in the possession and enjoyment of his mental faculties. Self-killing by an insane person is not suicide. See Insurance Co. v. Moore, 34 Mich. 41; Weber v. Supreme Tent 172 N. Y. 490. 65 N. E 258, 92 Am. St. Rep. 753; Clift v. Schwabe. 3 C. B. 458; Knights Templars, etc., Indemnity Co. v. Jarman, 187 U. S. 197, 23 Sup. Ct. 108, 47 L. Ed. 139; Breasted v. Farmers’ L. & T. Co., 8 N. Y. 299, 59 Am. Dec. 482; Daniels v. Railroad Co.. 183 Mass. 393, 67 N. a 424, 62 L R. A. 751.

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