Saint Christopher case
In the early seventeenth century, seven Englishmen embarked on an overnight voyage from Saint Christopher, but were blown out to sea and lost for 17 days. During this time, starving, they cast lots to see who would sacrifice their own life for the others. The lot fell to the man who had suggested the scheme and he consented to his subsequent killing. His body sustained the rest until they made their way to Saint Martin. They were returned to Saint Christopher where they were put on trial for homicide. The judge pardoned them, their crime being "washed away" by "inevitable necessity". However, though this case was cited in defence of Dudley and Stephens, it was reported only anecdotally some years later in a medical work and not in the law reports.
U.S. v. Holmes
In 1841, the U.S. ship William Brown sank after hitting an iceberg. Crewmen, including Alexander William Holmes, believed that their overloaded lifeboat was in danger of itself sinking and put 14 or 16 passengers overboard to their inevitable deaths in the frigid water. On his return to Philadelphia, Holmes was arrested and charged with murder. However, the grand jury rejected the indictment and substituted manslaughter. The judge in the United States Circuit Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania instructed the jury that necessity might be a complete defence but that "before the protection of the law of necessity can be invoked, a case of necessity must exist, the slayer must be faultless, he must owe no duty to the victim." The jury convicted Holmes and the principle of necessity was not tested by any higher court. This case was also cited in defense of Dudley and Stephens.
James Archer
On 9 August 1874, the collier Euxine was lost and James Archer took charge of one of the lifeboats with seven other survivors. Archer and four survivors were picked up on 31 August and Archer was candid that he and August Muller had killed and butchered Francis Shufus, selected by drawing lots. They were ultimately landed at Batavia Road where the acting British consul, William J. Fraser took their surprisingly honest depositions. The men were then shipped to Singapore along with Fraser's depositions and put into the hands of shipping master Henry Ellis, a character fictionalised in Joseph Conrad's novella The Shadow Line. Ellis consulted Attorney General for Singapore Thomas Braddell but then wrote to the Board of Trade in London that no further action was necessary and the men were free to find another ship to serve. However, Singapore Governor Sir Andrew Clarke had ordered the men arrested and when he informed the Colonial Office, they insisted that he hold a judicial enquiry. Prosecution was started in Singapore but ultimately dropped after extended procedural wrangles as to whether Singapore or England was the most appropriate jurisdiction.
HMS Birkenhead Incident
The HMS Birkenhead was one of the first iron-hulled ships for the British Navy. On 26 February 1852, while transporting troops to Algoa Bay, she was wrecked at Danger Point near Gansbaai on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. There were not enough serviceable lifeboats for all the passengers; and the soldiers, upon the orders from the Lieutenant-Colonel Seton, famously stood firm; thereby allowing the women and children to board the boats safely. The soldiers did not move, even as the ship broke up. Their last remaining duty was to preserve the lives of the women and children and that was what they were going to do.(Almost everybody kept silent, indeed nothing was heard, but the kicking of the horses and the orders of Capt. Salmond, all given in a clear firm voice- Lucas GA The Wreck of HM Steamer Birkenhead 1905)Lieutenant Colonel Seton was last seen among his men, and perished along with most of them. Every single woman and child was saved.
Only 193 of the 643 people on board survived, and the soldiers' chivalry gave rise to the now-universal "women and children first" protocol when abandoning ship.
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The Plank of Carneades
In ethics, the plank of Carneades is a thought experiment first proposed by Carneades of Cyrene; it explores the concept of self-defense in relation to murder.
In the thought experiment, there are two shipwrecked sailors, A and B. They both see a plank that can only support one of them and both of them swim towards it. Sailor A gets to the plank first. Sailor B, who is going to drown, pushes A off and away from the plank and, thus, proximately, causes A to drown. Sailor B gets on the plank and is later saved by a rescue team. The thought experiment poses the question of whether Sailor B can be tried for murder because if B had to kill A in order to live, then it would arguably be in self-defense.