Way To Die #17: Lawyer proves his case by killing himself

Strange, but a lawyer proves his case by killing himself...


In 1871 while representing a defendant in a murder case lawyer Clement Vallandigham a United States Congressman and one time political opponent of Abraham Lincoln wanted to prove the supposed murder weapon could have accidentally been fired by the victim. Taking the gun from evidence Vallandigham tried to demonstrate to the jury how the victim might have shot himself. His mistake was in not checking to see if the gun was loaded. Just as Vallandigham had speculated the firearm discharged and just as he’d conjectured the result was a mortal wound. On an upbeat note at least the defendant was acquitted.

Way To Die #16: Drink Yourself To Death

& no, it's not with alcohol :)

In June of 2007 Jennifer Lea Strange joined a short list of people who drank themselves to death with water when she fatally consumed an overdose of H2O during a radio contest called “Hold Your Wee for a Wii”. The young wife and mother agreed to drink as much water as possible as part of the contest in order to win a Wii game player for her family. Contestants competed to see who could go the longest without stopping to urinate. After the contest Strange collapsed and died resulting in a civil lawsuit against the radio station. Water intoxication which is also known as hyper-hydration can cause a fatal disturbance in the brain when the electrolytes in the body are thrown off their normal balance. Other famous deaths from water intoxication include artist Andy Warhol whose family claimed he was given too many fluids following gallbladder surgery in 1987.