A recent House of Lords report revived the debate over assisted dying for people who are terminally ill. Daniel Allen examines its conclusions

You can go to prison for up to 14 years for ‘aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring’ a suicide or attempted suicide under the terms of the 1961 Suicide Act, even if you think of your actions as ‘mercy killing’. On the other hand, you may not go to prison at all, and even if you do, you may well not serve the maximum sentence. There are no prosecution guidelines in such cases.