Eight crewmen and thirty-three passengers were cast adrift on the high seas following the wreck of the William Brown (ship). Eighteen passengers in the lifeboat, almost all of whom were male, were forced by members of the crew" to jump into the icy waters to certain death. The purpose of the crew was to make enough room in the little boat so that efforts could be made to navigate her properly and to bail water.
A passing ship eventually picked up the remaining survivors. Once back in the United States, Alexander Holmes, one of the crewmen, was charged with manslaughter after the grand jury refused to return an indictment for murder. Holmes was particularly unlucky - although at least five of the crewmen had participated in the jettisoning of the passengers, only Holmes ever stood trial for the deaths. Holmes was convicted of the charge of manslaughter, and was also fined twenty dollars.
Although accounts of the case have always cited the decision for the proposition that no one has the right to take the life of another human being who poses no threat, the presiding judge in the case said that under the instruction, the jury was told that it could find Holmes innocent if it found that casting away passengers was necessary in order to preserve the sailors who worked the boat. This charge potentially permitted a defense of necessity to succeed if it could be shown that the choice of who was to die was done in a rational manner. Because the jury found Holmes guilty on a general verdict it is impossible to say whether they rejected the idea of rational selection entirely, or merely found there was no need in the particular circumstances to save the sailors in preference to the passengers.
~~ In Dedication To Rahmawati Budjaza Ahmad~~
~~Till Next Time~~ Peace n Love~~ ;)
2 comments:
tenkiu so much my dear Merdiana...xoxoxoxo!!!
hehehe... u r most welcome my dear TT... xoxoxo :p
Post a Comment