Under Section 217 of the Tanzanian Penal Code, a person who attempts suicide is guilty of a misdemeanor. A secondary school student was charged in Ilala District Court with violating this law after taking ten antibiotic pills. State attorney Sakina Sinda told the court that on 3 July 2011, the student attempted suicide after her mother told her to spend money carefully because the family was having financial difficulties.
The student denied the charges against herself and wept in the courtroom as she pleaded with the judge to set her free on grounds that she is a student and wants to go back to school. ''It is not true that I tried to kill myself. I pray to this court to release me because I did not commit any crime,'' she told the court while in tears.
The judge, Wilbaforce Luhwago, adjourned the case until 4 August. The accused remains in jail after failing to secure bail.
Why does Tanzania fail to recognize that imprisoning someone after a suicide attempt solves nothing? Someone who wants to end his or her life is hardly going to be deterred by a potential prison sentence should the suicide attempt fail.
Source: "Student Charged with Attempted Suicide," The Daily News, 24 July 2011, http://dailynews.co.tz/home/?n=22059
The student denied the charges against herself and wept in the courtroom as she pleaded with the judge to set her free on grounds that she is a student and wants to go back to school. ''It is not true that I tried to kill myself. I pray to this court to release me because I did not commit any crime,'' she told the court while in tears.
The judge, Wilbaforce Luhwago, adjourned the case until 4 August. The accused remains in jail after failing to secure bail.
Why does Tanzania fail to recognize that imprisoning someone after a suicide attempt solves nothing? Someone who wants to end his or her life is hardly going to be deterred by a potential prison sentence should the suicide attempt fail.
Source: "Student Charged with Attempted Suicide," The Daily News, 24 July 2011, http://dailynews.co.tz/home/?n=22059
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