In an instance where an individual decides to take another’s life in order to preserve their own life might be under the assumption that their action is just based on necessity. However, the assumption would be false, a fact that has been proven in a number of court cases throughout history. In the case of Her Majesty the Queen v. Thomas Dudley & Edward Stephens (1884), Jeremy Bentham’s principal of utility presents a valid defense for the reasons that led to Crown choosing a guilty verdict.
The book of philosophical ideals written by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) titled Introduction to the Principals of Morals and Legislation (1907) is a frequently cited work in the argument that the principal of utility should be the bases of morality and law. …show more content…
Dudley and Stephens (1884) will be analyzed under Bentham’s principal of utility. The facts of the case are as follows: Captain Thomas Dudley, Edwin Stephens, Edmund Brooks, and Richard Parker were lost at sea in a life raft with limited life provisions (two cans of turnips, no fresh water) after the yacht, Mignonette was sunk. After eighteen days, the crew had exhausted their resources and Dudley suggested that someone be sacrificed to save the other three; however, Brooks rejected the idea and Parker was not consulted. The next day, Dudley again suggest that straws be drawn to select who would be sacrificed to feed the others; again, Brooks dissented and Dudley proposed that if no sail be sighted by the next day, Parker would be killed given that he fell ill from ingesting seawater. The following day, with no sail in sight, Dudley murdered Parker while Stephens held him down. The three of them fed on his flesh and blood until they were saved four days later. The remaining three seamen were rescued and were taken into custody once they returned to Cornwall, England. At the conclusion of the trial, Dudley and Stephens were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. However, the sentence was commuted by the Crown to six months’ imprisonment and Dudley and Stephens were
The book of philosophical ideals written by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) titled Introduction to the Principals of Morals and Legislation (1907) is a frequently cited work in the argument that the principal of utility should be the bases of morality and law. …show more content…
Dudley and Stephens (1884) will be analyzed under Bentham’s principal of utility. The facts of the case are as follows: Captain Thomas Dudley, Edwin Stephens, Edmund Brooks, and Richard Parker were lost at sea in a life raft with limited life provisions (two cans of turnips, no fresh water) after the yacht, Mignonette was sunk. After eighteen days, the crew had exhausted their resources and Dudley suggested that someone be sacrificed to save the other three; however, Brooks rejected the idea and Parker was not consulted. The next day, Dudley again suggest that straws be drawn to select who would be sacrificed to feed the others; again, Brooks dissented and Dudley proposed that if no sail be sighted by the next day, Parker would be killed given that he fell ill from ingesting seawater. The following day, with no sail in sight, Dudley murdered Parker while Stephens held him down. The three of them fed on his flesh and blood until they were saved four days later. The remaining three seamen were rescued and were taken into custody once they returned to Cornwall, England. At the conclusion of the trial, Dudley and Stephens were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. However, the sentence was commuted by the Crown to six months’ imprisonment and Dudley and Stephens were