Thomas Dudley

Thomas Dudley was the captain of the yacht Mignonette who, after a shipwreck in 1884, killed the dying cabin boy Richard Parker so the crew could survive, leading to a landmark murder trial.

R v Dudley and Stephens (1884) became the foundational common law case rejecting the defense of necessity in murder; the court held that necessity does not justify killing an innocent person to save others — a ruling that directly challenges utilitarian reasoning.