I can see that it was undoubtedly the darkest time in his entire life. And the accusation, as presented (ie false), is a travesty. But Mansfield killed him self. He was falsely accused.... not killed.
Ramius..... this reminds me of the causation argument in the Brame case. I don't buy that one either.
People are sometimes irresponsible with the hearts and lives of people, and cause them harm. I would advise people who would toy with messing with the reputation of someone to beware, people who are pushed sometimes snap in dangerous directions. But does that really lead to an accuser being responsible for the over-reaction of the accused? I can't see that it should.
The causation argument, as it applies to the Brame case is more complex, and while that gives it somewhat more validity there than here, it doesn't get anywhere near the root of the matter. This teacher's tolerance of conflict or controversy was extremely low - he snapped rather easily. But he was not in a position of immense trust or responsibility.
In Brame, the person was the police chief of a major U.S. city -- an extremely high level of maturity, responsibility and psychological stability is demanded, and rightly so. So while Brame might well have been given more impetus by his circumstances and the long history of interplay between himself and his wife, Brame's failure -- Brame's own fault, if you will, was even greater than this person's here. The failure was entirely Brame's -- because so much more must be expected of him than of the everyday Joe. Others don't share Brame's guilt...whether his wife or the city or the taxpayers. Because it is right to expect a police chief to uphold a much higher standard of responsibility than, well, just about anyone.