La muerte bajo sospecha: procedimientos judiciales frente al suicidio, Chile, 1832-1920

Abstract

This paper addresses the experience of suicide from a set of Chilean court cases from the cities of Santiago, Talca and Copiapo, in which justice opened an investigatory procedure, which activated new practices related to the appreciation of the circumstance by police, the recognition of witnesses, the execution of autopsies and finally, the identification of the cause of death. Nineteenth century cases show that throughout this process, and given the historical development of society, the suicidal person was presented as a sinner who committed a crime against God. This situation began to change in the early twentieth century when forensic medicine started to be used in justice as a clarifying agent. In this transition of the suicidal person, from sinner to an object of study, it remained, however, the idea that the suicidal action broke all-moral and social standards, despite there were no legal sanction.

Keywords

• Chile
• justice
• suicide
• 19th-20th centuries