Roberta Duncan Business Law and Ethics 31-May-11 The Case of the Speluncean Explorers Synopsis y5 members of the Spelucean society became trap ped in a cave due to a mudslide yAn effort that resulted in the death of 1 0 men lead to t he rescue of 4 of the 5 members of the cave exploration party on the 32 nd day of their imprisonment. One member was not found alive due to circumstances that took place during the par tys imprisonment yThe exploration party was lead on the expedition and was lead through the prospect of food sources during imprisonment by Roget Whetmore yWhetmore represented the exploration party when inquiring about food stores oInitial food stores: 2 days worth oFood stores on day 20: not enough to last the additional 10+ days the rescue crew needed to free the team oAvailability of alt ernative, traditional food stores in the cave: None oOther non-traditional alternatives: Consume a member of the team Chairman of the Committee of Physicians confirmed that consuming a member of the team would allow that team to survive at least 10 days longer Advisors on the process to identify the member of the team to be consumed cast lots yCommittee of Physicians none would comment on the process yJudge or government official none would comment on the process yPriest or Minister none would comment on the process yRoger Whetmore did not survive imprisonment oLots were cast oWhetmore wanted to wait another week before deciding to consume a member of the party oWhetmores lot was cast by another me mber of the party and he did not obje ct to the fairness of it oHe lost the lot and was consumed by the other me mbers of the party yThe 4 surviving members of the exploration party were indicted for the murder of their colleague (Roger Whetmore), were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging in accordance with the Commonwealth statute NCSA (NS) 12-A: Whoever shall willfully take the life ofanother shall be pun ished by d eath.yAt the trial, the trial judge made this ruling because the law of the Commonwealth permitted him no discretion with respect to the penalty to be imposedyAfter the trial, the jury and the trial judge petitioned the Chief Executive to have the sentence commuted to imprisonment of six months Opinion The trial judge and jury request for clemency, appears to be consistent with the explanation of clemency below as it pertains to the desire to afford relief: "Specifically, executive clemency is a central mechanism to afford relief from undue harshness or evident mistake in the operation of the legal system or enforcement of
