I've included a breakdown of R. v. Dudley and Stephens, a precedent-setting case, as it highlights the consequences of utilitarianism.
R. v. Dudley and Stephens [1884] 14 QBD 273
[1884-12-09] High Court of Justice
In 1884, four sailors including Dudley, Stephens, Brooks, and Richard Parker who was the youngest at 17 years of age were stranded at sea after a storm. After being adrift for 20 days with limited supplies and no rescue in sight, they were severely weakened and facing death from starvation. Dudley and Stephens decided to kill Parker, the weakest member, to use his body as sustenance for survival. Brooks did not participate in the killing but ate Parker’s flesh along with the others. Four days after the killing, they were rescued by a passing ship. Upon their return to England, Dudley and Stephens were charged with murder.
The main issues of this case were if the act of killing Parker was legally justified under the circumstances and can necessity serve as a defense to murder in situations of extreme survival?
In the end, Dudley and Stephens were found guilty of murder. They were sentenced to death, though their sentences were later released due in part to public sympathy.
The court held that necessity is, in fact, not a defense to murder, stating that killing another person to save oneself is not justifiable, even in dire circumstances and the sanctity of human life and the rule of law must prevail over subjective moral justifications. Additionally, even though Parker’s death saved the others, the deliberate taking of an innocent life is inherently unlawful and the legal system cannot condone decisions on what makes someones life more expendable over another. Finally, allowing necessity as a defense to murder would set a dangerous precedent.
The case established that necessity cannot justify taking an innocent life and that no one has the right to decide whose life is more valuable, because what makes one the judge of that? R. v. Dudley and Stephens is an important case in law, used in discussions of necessity, morality, flaws in utilitarianism, and the use of legal defenses as it asks important questions on legal limits.
Works Cited
Carson, Scott. “Regina v. Dudley and Stephens.” Case Briefs, Casebriefs LLC,