person’s good name’ if their suicide were ever to be made public. Of course, whether you fess up to this at the scene of the death or say nothing, is always a line call. Only those present will be able to judge how to handle the situation. Generally speaking, however, the act of ‘cleaning away’ is unlikely to attract anything more than a legal slap on the wrist.
What if the Cause of my Death says ‘Suicide’?
At Exit workshops, the room can generally be divided evenly into those who worry about what will be recorded on their death certificate and those who do not. Some people, understandably, fear being known as old Aunt Josie who ‘committed suicide.’ Others will have no preference, saying ‘who cares what they write, I’ll be dead anyway?’
If a person who is about to die from a serious disease and their death looks natural, it is likely that this disease will be recorded as the cause of their death. If you do not want ‘suicide’ recorded on your death certificate, you will need to take steps to disguise the truth.
Dying without Trace
At first glance, most end-of-life drugs (or orally-administered substances such as nitrite) leave no obvious identifying signs. Nembutal is a good example. The person will appear to have succumbed to their cancer or heart disease. However, if Lethobarb - the dyed, veterinary form of the drug is used - the person’s lips will be stained green; hence the name the ‘green dream’. Green lips are a dead giveaway (pardon the pun) to a death that is not natural.
