UK authorities have declined to prosecute a supplier of suicide kits linked to 112 deaths in Britain, prompting outrage from bereaved families who say they have been left feeling “insulted” and abandoned by the justice system.
Families left ‘insulted’ by no UK prosecution
Adele Zeynep Walton, whose 21-year-old sister Aimee died in 2022 after purchasing a kit from Kenneth Law’s website, described the decision as “absolutely insane”. She said: “It is so insulting. When have we ever had people using the internet in order to target and seek out vulnerable people and assist them systematically in suicide? This is a new epidemic of assisted suicide. I think the approach of the NCA and CPS needs to adapt with the times.” In a stark comparison, she added: “There are more victims than the Grenfell disaster and yet no one seems to be talking about this.”
David Parfett, whose son Thomas, 22, took his own life in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, said: “I am angry but I am not surprised. For months, we have been told that the system is working and that existing measures are enough. They are not. If our own country will not put anyone on trial for these deaths, the very least it can do is hold a proper inquiry into how they were allowed to happen.” Last month the government rejected calls for a public inquiry.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, a suicide prevention charity, said: “Bereaved families have been campaigning tirelessly to hold Kenneth Law to account in the UK, and to be told he will not be prosecuted here on the eve of his court case in Canada is a bitter blow. Families up and down the country have been impacted by Law’s crimes and should have the right to full justice in the UK.” He warned that as long as “pro-suicide forum[s] remain online, and while this substance is available in the UK and across borders, more vulnerable people are at risk.”
Why UK authorities chose not to prosecute
The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) informed families in a letter a day before Law’s court appearance in Canada that they would not seek his extradition. The letter stated: “After careful assessment, we agreed that Mr Law should be sentenced for the full extent of his offending within a single sentencing process in Canada. This approach is not unusual in cases involving serious offending that crosses international borders. We recognise that this may be painful to hear, and that some victims and bereaved families may have hoped to see a separate prosecution in England and Wales.”
The NCA’s investigation found that 286 individuals in the UK had received packages from Law’s websites, leading to 112 deaths. An agreed statement of facts to be presented to the Canadian court will record that Law sent packages to 286 recipients in the UK and that 79 deaths in the UK were attributed to products he supplied. Families may have the opportunity to present victim impact statements during the Canadian sentencing.
Andrew Hudson, a specialist prosecutor at the CPS, defended the decision. He explained that extradition carried risks: if a request were declined, Law would “never have been required to face justice for the harm caused to victims here”. Even if extradition succeeded, he said, “a prosecution in England could have been blocked under double jeopardy principles, because the same conduct would already have been punished by the Canadian courts.” Hudson called Law a “serial offender who callously exploited many vulnerable and innocent people exchanging their lives for his financial gain. The approach we have agreed will guarantee justice for our victims in the quickest possible way.”
In a joint statement, Joanne Jakymec, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS, and Craig Turner, a deputy director at the NCA, said: “No outcome in any court can remove the pain victims and their families have suffered. Victims have remained our priority when making decisions to deliver justice.”
Law, a 60-year-old Canadian, pleaded guilty in an Ontario court to 14 charges of aiding or counselling suicide. The plea agreement saw 14 first-degree murder charges withdrawn. He is alleged to have sold approximately 1,200 packages across 40 countries, using online forums and websites to sell sodium nitrite — a food preservative that is lethal in sufficient quantities — along with other items and instructions for self-harm. He was arrested in May 2023. Authorities in the United States, Italy, Australia and New Zealand have also conducted investigations into his activities.
Families vow to keep fighting
Next week the bereaved families will meet their lawyers at Leigh Day to discuss next steps. Adele Zeynep Walton, who believes her sister Aimee was “groomed into making the decision” to end her life by online communities, said: “We are going to keep fighting because the only reason that we continue to share our trauma is to prevent future deaths.”
David Parfett emphasised the need for legislative change, pointing to the continued availability of lethal substances and the persistence of harmful online spaces that “aren’t illegal but are associated with an astonishing level of harm”. He said: “Little has been done to rein in the online trade of lethal substances.”
Under Canadian law, Law faces a possible sentence of 10 to 20 years for aiding suicide. Legal experts have noted that the sentencing process is expected to take account of the full scale of his offending, including the harm caused to victims in the UK.
