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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 6213851" data-attributes="member: 19675">The ultimate & overwhelming issue in the fictionalized and actual case was that the boat in question was overloaded to the point that it could not deliver to safety all of its passengers.  In neither case did the lifeboat have enough water and food stood aboard to stave off death from exposure & thirst, and a storm threatened the seaworthiness of each vessel in question.In the fictionalized account, the First Mate acted before the storm hit.  In the the actual case, at the time people were being ejected, the overloaded lifeboat was taking on water and near sinking or overturning.  In both, the only things aboard that could be jettisoned were food, water, and people.  Had the vessel capsized, all food and fresh water would have been lost.So the answer to the first question is yes- removal of some was the only way to prevent the loss of all.As to the second, well...I find it enlightening that the RW First Mate was convicted of manslaughter (again, not murder) not because he killed or ordered to be killed persons under his aegis, but rather, he was faulted for improper method of selectiing them and failure to act decisively before the situation reached crisis.  That is, he should have been tossing people before the boat was so close to sinking- had he acted decisively beforehand (as the movie character did), he would not have been under as much time pressure, and could have chosen whom to sacrifice with more wisdom.</blockquote>

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