No Prosecution Following the Death of Sir Edward Downes

In July 2009 it was reported that reknowned conductor Sir Edward Downes and his wife, Lady Joan Downes, had ended their lives with the assistance of Dignitas. The reports at the time noted that Detectives from Greenwich CID were investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Sir Edward and Lady Joan Downes, specifically whether their children had assisted their parents to commit suicide.

The Director of Public Prosecutions announced today (Friday 19th March 2010) that after a careful review of all the evidence there was insufficient evidence to support a charge against the Downes' daughter, Ms Boudicca Downes. Furthermore, whilst there was sufficient evidence to support a charge against the Downes' son, Mr Caractacus Downes, of an offence under s.2(1) Suicide Act 1961, it was felt that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute him. Mr Caractacus Downes had booked a hotel room for his parents' use before they attended the Dignitas clinic. He also accompanied them from England to Switzerland.

The significance of this case is that is reportedly the first case where the public interest factors outlined in the Crown Prosecution Services 'Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide' (2010) have been applied. The DPP has kindly identified the factors that were taken into account when deciding whether it was in the public interest to prosecute in this case or not.

Factors tending in favour of prosecution in this case were identified as follows:

• It is clear that both Sir Edward and Lady Joan Downes were both able to undertake by themselves the actions which Mr Caractacus Downes undertook on their behalf.
• The evidence suggests that Mr Caractacus Downes was motivated entirely by compassion - even though there was also evidence which shows that he gained some financial benefit under the terms of his deceased parents' wills. On this point the Director of Public Prosecutions comments: "The relationship between compassion and financial gain is considered in paragraph 44 of the Policy. There, it is recognised that a suspect may gain some benefit from the resultant suicide of the victims. The Policy states that the critical element to consider is the motive behind the suspect's act. If it is shown that compassion was the only driving force behind his actions, the fact that the suspect may gain some benefit will not usually be treated as a factor tending in favour of prosecution."

Factors tending against prosecution identified in this case were as follows:

• It is clear that both Sir Edward and Lady Joan Downes had each reached a voluntary, clear, settled and informed decision to commit suicide.

Ultimately it was decided that the factors tending against prosecution outweighed the factors tending in favour of prosecution. This is consistent with the observation in the Crown Prosecution Service's 'Policy for Prosecutors in Respect of Cases of Encouraging or Assisting Suicide' that "Assessing the public interest is not simply a matter of adding up the number of factors on each side and seeing which side has the greater number ... It is quite possible that one factor alone may outweigh a number of other factors which tend in the opposite direction."

NB: It should be noted that since the Downes committed suicide prior to 1st February 2010, the Crown Prosecution Service would have been considering whether there was sufficient evidence to convict their children of the offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring a suicide contrary to the 'old' s.2(1) Suicide Act 1961. That has since been replaced follwoing the enactment of s.59 Coroners and Justice Bill 2009. The 'new' s.2(1) offence (assisting or encouraging suicide) will, however, only apply to assisted suicides which occur after the 31st March 2010.