Well, I suppose there is a difference between cold-bloodedly planning someone's demise, and doing something stupid in the heat of the moment. The law does generally see the latter as a less serious offence. In the UK he would likely only get done for manslaughter.

I am reminded of Jerry Seinfeld's line about people who attempt suicide once but then don't try again. "Why not? It's not like your life's got any better..."

I'm not so sure about that. Check this out. The money quote:

...after people attempt suicide and fail, their incomes increase by an average of 20.6 percent compared to peers who seriously contemplate suicide but never make an attempt. In fact, the more serious the attempt, the larger the boost—"hard-suicide" attempts, in which luck is the only reason the attempts fail, are associated with a 36.3 percent increase in income.

That is incredible. And almost tempting.

It's a 100% drop in income if you succeed. Not sure that is a great investment.

Yeah, but that coincides with a 100% drop in the cost of living.

"Yeah, but that coincides with a 100% drop in the cost of living."

Only for you.

Er, obviously, yes. What did you think we were talking about?

Just pointing out the downside isn't just one-sided. As the widow Hogan is now finding out...