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You got your sandbox in my sandbox!
No, you got your sandbox in my sandbox!
Sandboxes, in my sandbox? It's more likely than you think.
Most people will put their best effort into continuing to live. Some will get careless, fewer will commit suicide. Then there are those who will ask others to kill them.
They may sldo this for several reasons, including:
- To avoid a Fate Worse than Death, or a long protracted death. Frequently this will be a case of I Cannot Self-Terminate. If the request is fulfilled, it may be Mercy Killing.
- Based on their cultural norms, death may be considered preferable to the life they must live.
- In some fantasy worlds, manner of death may have a magical effect.
- He may have committed a crime (or something he believes to be a crime) which he now believes that he deserves the death penalty over it.
Whatever the reason, the person has requested to be killed. Such request may not be met (and in many jurisdictions meeting the request would be murder).
As this is a Death Trope, unmarked spoilers abound. Beware.
Examples:
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Literature
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we find out that Snape killing Dumbledore in the previous book was at Dumbledore's own request.
- In The Host (2008), Wanda - a centipede-like creature implanted in Melanie's body - asks to be removed from it; she asked Doc to kill her afterwards.
- In Twilight book "New Moon", Edward - believing incorrectly that Bella was dead - asked the Volturi to kill him. They refused.
Live-Action TV
- Diagnosis: Murder episode "Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of My Life" is about a new doctor in Community General Hospital who fulfills such requests for dying patients. The episode ends with her being indicted with second-degree manslaughter.
- In Law & Order episode "The Reaper's Helper", the police are investigating the death of Bobby Holland. Turns out that Holland, who was very sick from AIDS, asked his father to kill him; when the father refused, Holland asked Jack Curry, who did it. Curry is also known to have killed 2 other AIDS patients shortly before, presumably also under their own requests.
- Star Trek:
- In Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Ethics", Worf gets a spinal injury which is believed would leave him permanently paralyzed. Based on the rules of Klingon honor, he asks Riker to help him with a suicide ritual. Riker refuses, claiming that the only one who can help Worf under the rules of this ritual is Worf's own son, Alexander.
- In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Sons of Mogh", Kurn claims that his brother Worf had caused him to lose his honor, and that the only way for Kurn to get it back is by Worf killing him with the Mauk-to'Vor ritual. Worf starts the ritual, but Dax - who has a good understanding of Klingon culture - alerts the security chief of what's going on.
Mythology and Religion
- In the last chapter of the first book of Samuel, during a loosing battle with the Philistines, King Saul asks his porter to kill him; the porter refuses. There are two separate naritives of how he actually died, according to the second - told by an Amalekite - Saul asked the Amalekite to kill him, and the Amalekite did.
