# How would you respond to the trolley problem? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 3, 2024, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-respond-to-the-trolley-problem/1002430 "2024-06-03T10:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 98
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-respond-to-the-trolley-problem/1002430/98 "2024-06-03T19:09:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Next some overzealous DA might bring manslaughter charges against you. Note that one of the reasons the British government decided to prosecute the Mignonette case (where shipwrecked sailors were prosecuted for killing and eating a comatose shipmate) was to enshrine in common law the fact necessity (the legal reason things like a fire fighter smashing a door, that would otherwise be criminal damage, is legal) was not a defense for murder: > [@How common was "Draw straws to determine who will be eaten" in maritime disasters?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-was-draw-straws-to-determine-who-will-be-eaten-in-maritime-disasters/967761/35): > > So I stand corrected on this one. It was actually relatively common, it was considered part of custom of the sea. I just listened to episode of the excellent The Constant podcast on this very subject: The key point about starvation vs dying of thirst thing is that the victims blood can be drunk(as long as you don’t wait for them to die naturally and then for it to coagulate.) It was so common that the British government decided there needed to be a test case to show that it wasn’t in fact a … So yeah I think you’d be 100% liable for criminal prosecution --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-respond-to-the-trolley-problem/1002430)._