R v Dudley & Stevens
Religious Studies: KS3, topic 3.1.2
R v Dudley and Stevens
The situation
- In 1884, four sailors were shipwrecked far out at sea.
- The sailors had no food, no water, and were drifting in an open lifeboat for over 20 days.
- One of the sailors was a young cabin boy named Richard Parker.
- Richard was very weak and became unconscious.
The decision
- After many days with nothing to eat, two of the sailors - Thomas Dudley and Edward Stephens - decided to kill the cabin boy so they could survive by eating him.
- The sailors argued that they were starving, the boy was already close to death, and that killing him would save the others.
The consequences
- When the sailors were finally rescued, the men were taken back to England and put on trial for murder.
- The court decided that 'necessity' is not a defence for murder, and so you cannot kill an innocent person even if it would save more lives.
- The men were found guilty of murder, although their sentence was reduced to just 6 months.
Test yourself on R v Dudley & Stevens
How did Dudley and Stephens argue that killing the cabin boy was justified?
Why did the court refuse to accept necessity as a defence for Dudley and Stephens?
Select the correct statement for each pair about the R v Dudley & Stevens case.
Select the correct statement for each pair about the R v Dudley and Stephens case.
Who were the two sailors involved in a famous court case about a group of sailors who killed one of their group?