Does anybody pay attention. Bioware has said distinctively that the Player decides if Shepard will live or die.
An article from G4 by Patrick Klepek. Evidently, he had an interview with Casey Hudson in which Hudson stated I quote: ?In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard can actually die. No, I don't mean his health bar will run out because of one too many laser blasts and players are returned to the last checkpoint. The consequences are more severe than that. According to Hudson, players can make a series of decisions that will not allow Commander Shepard to continue -- the decisions lead to his death.