Shipwrecked Sailor Review

Should Dudley and Stephens be tried for murder? Yes. In order to commit a crime one must commit an overt, voluntary act. In order to be guilty of murder, one must have intentionally killed another human being. Dudley and Stephens committed both of these actions. They chose to kill Brooks, even after he resisted, and intended not only to kill him, but to eat him as well. Because of these facts, Dudley and Stephens are guilty of murder.

Attorney for Dudley and Stevens Arguments: Ø      Extremely bizarre situation – unlikely to happen again Ø      Did it for survival Ø      Had a verbal contract(?)

Attorney for the State Arguments: Ø     Intentionally killed another human being Ø     Not only killed but ate a human being

If they are convicted what is their punishment? Are there mitigating circumstances? There are three main theories of punishment to choose from: deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation

rehabilitation The theory of rehabilitation assumes that external factors brought about by society causes the criminal to commit the crime. Therefore, the criminal has the ability to be rehabilitated and returned back to society without the want or need to commit more crimes. Again, the circumstances of the case of the shipwrecked sailors rules out this theory of punishment. Dudley and Stephens did not normally kill and eat people.

deterrence Deterrence is one theory of punishment and consists of two branches, general deterrence and specific deterrence. The purpose of general deterrence is to deter other people from committing a similar crime by displaying to society the punishment they would receive. Specific deterrence is to deter the actual criminal from committing the same crime again by giving him a punishment he would not want to experience again.   In order for either branch of this theory to be effective, the crime committed must be one that is likely to happen again.

retribution The final theory of punishment is retribution, in which punishment is used as revenge – an eye for an eye. Another interpretation of this theory is that retribution is used to provide peace of mind to others and reduce the likelihood of other members of society to commit similar crimes. Neither Dudley nor Stephens have a tendency to kill and eat people, therefore, it is unnecessary to punish them to bring peace of mind to others for that assurance is brought about by their return to society. As for the criminal tendencies of others, society typically is not cannibalistic.