Despite warnings, “shocking” suicide books are being sold on Amazon

The families are demanding that “shocking” and “offensive” books on the subject of suicide be taken off sale on Amazon.

Since December, four different coroners have raised concerns about the online retailer after people who purchased books and other materials later committed suicide.

The latest warning was issued following the death of 61-year-old Deborah Cooper from Melksham in Wiltshire.

Amazon said it offers a “wide range of viewpoints,” including books that some may find offensive.

Warning: Contains disturbing content

Mrs Cooper was an aspiring writer who had recently moved to Melksham from Bath.

She spoke openly about her mental health issues in her blogs and on her Facebook page. She publicly announced that she was diagnosed with ADHD and autism in her old age.

But on February 21, she took her own life at home.

A digital copy of a publication was found on her computer, which Wiltshire Coroner David Ridley described as a publication “whose sole purpose is to provide information to those considering ending their lives”.

Other materials purchased from Amazon were also found.

The coroner then issued an order to Amazon to prevent future deaths, which was also copied to Economic Affairs Minister Kemi Badenoch and Culture Minister Lucy Frazer.

The letter says Amazon has the authority to take action to prevent future deaths.

Mr Ridley expressed his “extreme concern” about the “marketing and distribution of such a book which contains clear instructions” on how to take one’s own life.

The letter from the Wiltshire Coroner was the fourth similar letter sent to Amazon since December 2023.

In March, the Cheshire Coroner also wrote to Amazon about the death of 86-year-old Mary Jones from Knutsford.

Coroner Elizabeth Wheeler said Ms Jones had consulted a book available on the station’s website before preparing to commit suicide.

Ms Wheeler said: ‘Amazon, or rather the algorithms, are clearly aware of the potential harm this book can cause, as there is a banner at the top with contact numbers for the Samaritans.

“Nevertheless, the book is still available in stores.”

Mary Jones’ daughter, Christine Wadsworth, told the BBC that she still misses her mother very much.

“For me it is very, very sad,” she said.

“She was unhappy, but maybe she would have come to her senses. Maybe something would have cheered her up, or maybe a few more months would have passed.”

However, she said she was angry about the “offensive” books being sold on Amazon.

“It’s shocking that you can get a book so easily. You don’t expect to see it on the virtual bookshelves. You wouldn’t expect it to just be there and you can pick it out, buy it and read it.

“I don’t think this book should be sold. I don’t know exactly why it exists and who it is actually aimed at.”

In a statement, Amazon said: “We extend our deepest condolences to Ms. Cooper’s family and friends.

“As booksellers, we choose to offer a wide range of viewpoints, including books that some may find offensive, and we have content guidelines that determine which books can be offered for sale.

“We recognise that this is an extremely sensitive subject. For this reason, we display a banner on the product detail page of this book providing customers with information on how they can receive free and confidential advice from the Samaritans.”

Amazon is currently the fifth largest company in the US and reported total revenue of $575 billion for 2023. Its founder Jeff Bezos has an estimated net worth of around $200 billion.

A book purchased from Amazon was also blamed for the death of 19-year-old Toni Haw from York in 2013.

Her mother Hilary Haw told the BBC: “We found it in her room a few days after the incident and immediately reported it to the police. They came and picked it up straight away.”

“I only had a cursory look at it, but it was pretty gruesome. The coroner said the method she used was described in detail in this book.

“It is a dangerous publication and I firmly believe it should not be freely available.”

The Inner West London Coroner expressed his concerns to the company in December 2023 over the death of 43-year-old Chloe Macdermott from London. The coroner said she had purchased a substance on Amazon’s US website which she used to take her own life.

Later that month, the Cheshire Coroner wrote to the company following the death of 19-year-old Adrian Gallagher in Warrington, expressing concern about a book available on Amazon that had been linked to his death.

The BBC is not providing any further details about the deaths or the goods purchased on Amazon beyond what is available in public documents released by the coroners.

Interest groups supported the coroners’ demands.

Suicide Prevention UK, based in Bristol, runs a helpline for people experiencing mental health difficulties and conducts patrols.

The charity’s administrator, Lauren Rolfe, believes the availability of the books makes vulnerable people more likely to commit suicide.

“These people have mental health problems, they are in a mental health crisis,” she said.

“They will do whatever they can to ease the pain, and the easy availability of these books will assist them in achieving their goal.”

Some of the books in question are already banned in Australia.

An author of two of these books told the BBC: “Common-sense adults have the right to have the information (and means) to end their lives at a time of their choosing, for whatever reason.”

“This is different from the ‘medical model’, which codifies illness and degree of suffering to determine whether legal euthanasia can be provided.”

The British campaign group Dignity in Dying recently joined broadcaster and journalist Esther Rantzen in calling for a change in the law on assisted suicide.

They want a system that gives people who have less than six months to live the right to decide their own death.

In a statement, however, they distanced themselves from the books to which the forensic doctors referred: “The general ban on euthanasia protects none of us and forces hundreds of terminally ill people every year to resort to drastic methods to end their suffering.”

“Under the law of England and Wales… it is illegal to ‘assist or encourage a suicide’, which may include offering advice or information about ending one’s life.”

“Dignity in Dying operates within the law and therefore does not provide information or support to people wishing to end their lives in the UK.”