R v Dudley and Stephens

The criminal case R v Dudley and Stephens 1884, file number 14 QBD 273 DC, is one of the outstanding British criminal cases. By the verdict a precedent set in which it was found that the defense of a murder the existence of a state of emergency may not be invoked. The ruling had an impact on the global justice.

History

Wearing course have the events on board a dinghy of Mignonette, an English yacht. The Mignonette was built in 1867 and was about 16 feet long. On 19 May 1884, the ship left Southampton with the aim of Sydney. On board were four people, the Captain Tom Dudley, the crew consisting of Edwin Stephens, Edmund Brooks and the 17 -year-old cabin boy Richard Parker. They drove to the Cape of Good Hope, as the ship was badly damaged on July 5 by a wave. Just minutes after leaving and occupied the lifeboat to the water, the ship sank.

A few weeks later, all four were near death, particularly Parker, who had been drinking seawater. The proposal, by lottery to decide who was to be sacrificed in favor of the other three, was rejected by Brooks. Dudley and Stephens stabbed on July 25, the ship's boy, order to feed on him. Brooks was not directly involved in the appointment and act, but took part in the eating of the slain.

On July 29, the castaways were taken from the German Bark Moctezuma. The three survivors returned to the United Kingdom. The incident on the high seas was treated in the court case, R. v. Dudley and Stephens. On 9 December, the two were sentenced to death, but recommended their pardon. The sentence was reduced by the Crown to six months in prison.