Bentham on Dudley and Stephens + Paper Idea

Jeremy Bentham’s idea of punishment is centered on “the promise to exclude some greater evil.”  In the case where Dudley and Stephens killed Parker on a boat at sea, with no promise of survival, even after the possibility of surviving on the body of the man they killed, punishing Dudley and Stephens would not be in conjunction with Bentham’s ideas because the “mischief” they committed (killing Parker for food) is unlikely to occur again, therefore there is not any “mischief” to prevent.  Since Bentham’s justification for punishment is to prevent mischief, Dudley and Stephens should not be punished. 

Another qualification for Bentham is that “it (the punishment) must be inefficacious” meaning punishing Dudley and Stephens will prevent the “mischief” in the future.   In the rare case that the situation did again present itself in the same time period (not accounting for modern applications of today), the idea that the crew members would not decide to kill a member solely on the basis that Dudley and Stephens were punished upon returning from their trip is unlikely.  When the crew members reached the point of choosing to kill Parker, they were most likely in a state of severe dehydration among a multitude of other medical conditions along with physiological stress.  The possibility of a punishment once returning home will most likely not affect their decisions on how to survive until that point.

Bentham also brings up the condition of the act of punishment not being necessary if the act will cause more “mischief” than has already resulted from the incident.  The punishment (killing Dudley and Stephens) will only result in the loss of two additional lives that already survived at the hands of one death.  Putting Dudley and Stephens to their death will result in a greater “mischief” arising as the killing of Parker would no longer be not only tragic, but also no longer beneficial to the survival of two additional men.  Therefore, in conclusion, Bentham would not approve of the punishment of Dudley and Stephens.

PAPER PROPOSAL IDEA:  For my paper, I would like to address the influence media (fictional television shows; court case shows; radio, television, reports, as well as public networking coverage of high profile cases; etc.) has an effect on the way the general public perceives the process of the law and the rights they are entitled to (such as the efficiency of a court case, selection of a jury, possible definitions of sentences [such as what 2^nd degree murder means], etc.).