> So Aaron's other suicidal episodes, when no one was prosecuting him, aren't relevant to his final suicidal episode? They absolutely are. Suicidal episodes a

> So Aaron's other suicidal episodes, when no one was prosecuting him, aren't relevant to his final suicidal episode? They absolutely are. Suicidal episodes are usually kept quite quiet - people you're extremely close to may have attempted suicide without ever telling you about it due to the societal shame and perception of weakness. As a general rule, it's a good idea to not emotionally abuse people or induce unnecessary mental stress on anyone since you're not going to be aware of how they're doing internally and, honestly, trying to emotionally abuse people, even when they're able to take it, is just being an abusive ass. I think your example of flipping a bird on the highway is honestly a good thing for more people to keep in mind in their daily lives - if someone is feeling particularly vulnerable then lashing out at them could tip the balance and you don't want that on your conscience - but I think legally speaking it'll always be a matter of judgement on the specifics. In the highway example it's likely that your bird barely nudged a needle that was already on the brink - while, when it comes to the legal system, prosecutors regularly use emotional abuse to expedite confessions and coerce defendants - as a society I think we tend toward a view where once someone is charged with a crime they are segregated into a different class of people who are unworthy of common respect, we need to change that.