I know that you have been wondering if this is a true story, or just a writer pounding out a new book.
It is at this time that I share with you, my readers, that this is in fact an actual and true story.
Not only a true story, but one that my family is in the middle of.
I have changed the names of those involved for legal reasons.
My sister is Terri, my nephew is Scott.
This is a story that played out for almost one decade and ended tragically.
We are all in counseling and riddled with grief.
The reason for writing this story is to bring awareness to suicide and to deal with my grief.
But it is also an attempt to shed light that someone can be driven to suicide...
And when that happens, should the culprit be held accountable for the person's death?
Can someone else be legally responsible for causing another to take their own life?
If so, should they be punished as a murderer?
Thank you for your support.
-S.Spade
I am sorry your family is going through this.
ReplyDeleteI still maintain my position that we are have to take responsibility for our own actions, and while it may seem like someone else has enough power over someone to cause extreme actions, I believe that the ultimate decision lies with the actor.
It is a sad story all the way around.
Shit. I was really hoping this was not going to be true. Just shit.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Paige on this one. We are all accountable for our own actions. I just can't imagine things being so out of control bad that I couldn't come up with another solution. Not that I can't see it happening, I just can't see it happening to me.
So very sorry for your entire family. This just sucks.
Until this happened in our family, I thought exactly the same as you. People are responsible for their own actions. My position has greatly changed, not only from my families experience, but also from several other families who experienced similar situations. Now I absolutely believe that a person can be tormented and abused so much by another individual that they find no other way out of the situation except for taking their life. People can be so traumatized by the deliberate actions of another that it can affect their thought process. The mind is very delicate yet complex. One example is infants who are emotionally neglected by a parent and display failure to thrive syndrome. Their will to live ceases, they refuse food and either come close to death or they actually die. Another example would be someone ( such as the Jews in the concentration camps) who are daily abused either emotionally, physically or both.
ReplyDeleteSome fought to live;others comitted suicide.
Their actions were a direct result of the intentional abuse they had suffered at the hands of someone else.
Their minds were affected and they simply snapped. Please understand I am NOT comparing our situation to the concentration camps. I am just giving an example of abuse and how the brain processes it. I believe that when another individual purposefully inflicts mental anguish on another and their actions result in tragedy, then they should be held accountable to some extent. I think once you see a little further into our story, you may change your position. It is my hope to bring awareness to the possibility. A subject that (I feel) needs to be evaluated on a case by case situation. I appreciate your opinions and I thank you.