A man described by prosecutors as an online “poison seller” has pleaded guilty to helping people end their lives, in a case that has left families in Britain demanding answers about why he hasn’t faced charges here too.
Kenneth Law, a Canadian national, admitted in an Ontario court to charges related to the deaths of victims in Canada. He sold toxic chemicals through websites that operated in plain sight, shipping packages across the world with little apparent obstruction. Prosecutors say he knew exactly what his customers intended to do with what he sent them.
The scale of it is difficult to sit with. In the UK alone, 79 deaths have been linked to chemicals supplied by Law, according to families and campaigners who have been pressing British authorities to act. Those aren’t abstractions; they’re 79 people, 79 sets of grieving relatives waiting for someone to be held accountable on their behalf.
“He should be facing justice in Britain, not just Canada,” one bereaved family member told reporters outside court. “Our children are just as dead as the Canadian victims.”
Law reportedly ran his operation with a veneer of legitimacy, presenting the chemicals as legitimate products while allegedly advising buyers on dosages. Police in multiple countries investigated him for years before Canadian authorities finally arrested him in 2023.
The Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales has faced criticism for not pursuing its own case. Campaigners argue that British law is capable of prosecuting such conduct, and that the families of UK victims deserve the same legal recognition as those in Canada. So far, no charges have been brought on this side of the Atlantic.
Mental health charities have pointed out that Law’s operation exploited people at their most vulnerable, targeting those in crisis who were actively searching for a way out. The ease with which he operated raises uncomfortable questions about how effectively authorities monitor the online sale of dangerous substances.
With sentencing still to come in Canada, the real question hanging over this case is whether the 79 UK families will ever see a courtroom of their own.
