Because suicide is the ultimate act of selfishness and cowardice - they don't have the courage to face their problems, and they think that the world they live in revolves around them. (this would be the Catholic in me speaking I guess)

It is very rare that you can label suicide courageous, or even noble - and those examples standout because they break the mold because of their altruistic and/or courageous nature.

This thread makes me want to rent Heathers. "Teenage suicide....don't do it!"

no, she's still stupid. but i felt like pointing out the fact that she was a lesbian.

no kidding.

Geez. That's messed up that she killed some other person who had nothing to do with her or her issues. The very least she could have done was drive her car off a cliff or something if she insisted on doing it in her car.

Have you ever been severely clinically depressed? I agree that it is certainly not a courageous act, but this is a hugely overly simplistic assessment. Often suicide is about trying for years and years to "face their problems" without having the psychological tools to do so, and eventually coming to genuinely believe things cannot get better. Many also believe that they are nothing but a burden on their loved ones (particularly the elderly, who have the highest suicide rates). I know I'm off-topic now, but I had to comment.

I actually agree with RA here, suicide makes me angry, especially for the person that has to find them. This girl, I imagine, probably made a fairly rash decision to commit suicide...she was texting, which leads me to think maybe something set her off. I doubt she's guilty of malice, but stupidity should be enough.

depression
 

Usually when people are committing suicide they are in an irrational state, and therefore considering alternative ways to kill oneself is the last thing on his/her mind. People of all social and religious backgrounds suffer from depression. It doesn’t make what happen excusable. She should still have some consequence for her actions but she also needs professional help.

For any who is more familar with either this case or law in general, could someone elaborate, if possible, on why she is being charged with murder vs. manslaughter?

Burn the bitch. Moving on.....

I'm not in law but this is just my guess, that she "intentionally" wanted to crash into a car. If it was by "accident" then she would have been charged with manslaughter. But she "intentionally" wanted to kill herself by crashing into someone else's car, and because of that intention makes it a murder.

Umm...does it make sense? :confused:

And I think "courage" may be the wrong term I used...but you all know what I meant.

I don't know the statistics offhand, but is it more common for teenagers to commit suicide than adults?

Yes I have been severly depressed, back in the mid-90s following my UN deployment in Yugoslavia - it is but another aspect of PTSD.... and I still suffer from bouts of mild depression as a result of my CFS. That being said I still stick to my statement that suicide is the cowards way out.

She's being charged with felony murder, which depending on state law, allows for a charge of murder when a death incurs during the commission of a felony. The felony here is assault with a motor vehicle, I believe. She intentionally swerved into traffic, or so they're saying.

Thanks! Like I said, I'm not one of the many lawyers or law students here on GC so I was kind of confused on how they arrived at murder. I always thought murder had to involve intent to harm that particular person. Since she didn't intend to kill that woman just herself I was kinda stunned with a murder charge.

Agreed wholeheartedly.

Hopelessness and cowardice are simply not the same. When I was suicidal I was not afraid of my life or my problems. I couldn't be afraid of what I was already experiencing and had been experiencing for years. But I had tried to get help in every avenue possible and I wasn't getting it. Had I gotten help I would have gladly tried anything.