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Because it's Friday, here is some legal history. As a first year student I was appalled and fascinated by the case R v Dudley and Stephens an 1884 Queen's Bench case involving murder and cannibalism at sea that established the principle that necessity is not a defence to murder.
Shipwrecked off the coast of St Helena, a captain and 2 sailors agreed to kill and eat the poor cabin boy Richard Parker, arguing he was dying anyway, and the "custom of the sea" was that cannibalism was allowed to save other lives. They killed the boy for his blood and flesh.
One version of my novel MEMORY was based on this idea of necessity and murder, and I even had a fantastic chapter about Richard Parker. Then I read LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel, which is directly inspired by the case, even to the point where a character is called Richard Parker.
Talking to a friend today inspired me to look up the old draft. Damn it was good. But you know what? Yann Martel used the story better. So I was happy to cede it to a superior craftsman. If you haven't read LIFE OF PI please do. I love it so much I have a poster in my bathroom!
Here is a great BBC History Extra article on the case. It's wonderfully detailed. This is a brilliant website for all history buffs by the way. I wrote a short piece for BBC History earlier this year and hope to do so again. Enjoy the article! https://www.historyextra.com/period/cannibalism-at-sea-sailors-ate-the-cabin-boy/
