[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Reminds me of an incident in medieval England, when suicide was a major crime. A guy tried to cut his own throat, but the suicide failed. They tried him for the 'crime' and sentenced him to be hanged. That wouldn't work, though, because he could still breathe through the hole in his throat. So they wrapped his throat with bandages in order to complete the execution!

They were, by their light, doing him a kindness.

If you committed suicide your soul went to hell and you could not be buried in concentrated ground.

However if you were executed you got what you wanted (death) you could receive last rites, your soul would end up in heaven, (after the appropriate time in purgatory) and you could be buried in concentrated ground.

[expat2]

Interesting, and perhaps accurate, viewpoint. However, what if he had come to realize that he wanted to live, after all?