# Is arranged fight to the death a crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449 "2013-09-09T22:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/21 "2013-09-10T20:05:32Z")
You cannot legally consent to an illegal act. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/22 "2013-09-10T20:45:38Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > So if we do 100 paces would that make it better? Only in Iowa and Oregon. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/23 "2013-09-10T21:03:50Z")
In Canada, one cannot consent to oneā€™s own death, as per Criminal Code, s. 14: > [@](#): > > 1. No person is entitled to consent to have death inflicted on him, and such consent does not affect the criminal responsibility of any person by whom death may be inflicted on the person by whom consent is given. I imagine other countries would have similar prohibitions. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/24 "2013-09-11T00:19:13Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > IANAL and my criminal law knowledge is decades out of date, but when I took a class and we discussed homocide, the definition of 1st degree murder was something like ā€œIntentionally taking the life of another human being with malice aforethoughtā€. What if one, or both, were straight? Would that change anything? Donā€™t feel bad, the Green River Star in Green River, WY had a headline in the early 90s about a homocide. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/25 "2013-09-11T01:03:17Z")
In Montana, it would likely be [mitigated deliberate homicide](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/45/5/45-5-103.htm), with the mitigation being ā€œhe was trying to kill meā€: > [@](#): > > \*\*45-5-103. Mitigated deliberate homicide. \*\* (1) A person commits the offense of mitigated deliberate homicide when the person purposely or knowingly causes the death of another human being or purposely or knowingly causes the death of a fetus of another with knowledge that the woman is pregnant but does so under the influence of extreme mental or emotional stress for which there is reasonable explanation or excuse. The reasonableness of the explanation or excuse must be determined from the viewpoint of a reasonable person in the actorā€™s situation. > > ``` > (2) Mitigated deliberate homicide is a lesser included offense of deliberate homicide as defined in [45-5-102](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/45/5/45-5-102.htm)(1)(a), but is not a lesser included offense of deliberate homicide as defined in [45-5-102](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/45/5/45-5-102.htm)(1)(b). > > (3) Mitigating circumstances that reduce deliberate homicide to mitigated deliberate homicide are not an element of the reduced crime that the state is required to prove or an affirmative defense that the defendant is required to prove. Neither party has the burden of proof as to mitigating circumstances, but either party may present evidence of mitigation. > > (4) A person convicted of mitigated deliberate homicide shall be imprisoned in the state prison for a term of not less than 2 years or more than 40 years and may be fined not more than $50,000, except as provided in [46-18-219](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/46/18/46-18-219.htm) and [46-18-222](http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/46/18/46-18-222.htm). > > ``` That said, if the person was willingly engaged in bloodsport or dueling, I can only imagine the highest sentence would be returned, so forty years in [Deer Lodge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_Lodge,_Montana). ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/26 "2013-09-11T14:32:31Z")
> [@Zapp\_S](#): > > If two people agree to fight to the death, and one kills another, would the survivor be charged, and with what? What sentence might he get? IF a person fights to the death, then the state of mind is clear to me, there was an INTENT to kill them, ergo Murder. OR in the legal alternative, if death did not result from the actual fight, and the other person left them to die, which they did not, then some type of higher degree of ASSAULT/MAYHEM. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/27 "2013-09-11T14:56:17Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > ā€¦ > But yes, I believe _deloping_ (deliberately missing) ā€¦ Italics added. Ca-Ching! Into the register that goes! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/28 "2013-09-11T15:06:28Z")
John and Adam each needs cash. They decide to "fight to the death"in front of spectators who each pay $100 for a ticket to watch. John dies, making Adam the winner, however Adam dies six hours later due to injuries sustained in the fight. Adamā€™s wife Edna takes the proceeds of the fight, per the agreement. Is anyone prosecuted? Was there a crime? ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/29 "2013-09-11T15:14:25Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > John and Adam each needs cash. They decide to "fight to the death"in front of spectators who each pay $100 for a ticket to watch. John dies, making Adam the winner, however Adam dies six hours later due to injuries sustained in the fight. > > Adamā€™s wife Edna takes the proceeds of the fight, per the agreement. > > Is anyone prosecuted? Was there a crime? Illegal gambling for one. Proceeds are subject to forfieture. Criminal charges can be brought also, accessory before or after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/30 "2013-09-11T15:29:16Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield;16652385 But yes, I believe deloping (deliberately missing) when duelling with handguns had become The Done Thing by the 19th Century, for obvious reasons. Also, it was considered a terribly caddish thing to have rifling - even ā€œscratch riflingā€ - in the barrels of oneā€™s duelling pistols, too (on account of how that would make the guns somewhat accurate enough to reliably kill or maim).[/QUOTE] I do not understand the reasoning here. If the pistols were accurate, then one could reliably intentionally miss, even when aiming near the opponent. If we take the limit of inaccuracy as it goes to infinity, then the duelists would have to aim far away from their opponents so that the bullet could not possibly hit their opponents, barring ricochets. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/31 "2013-09-11T16:45:13Z")
> [@j\_sum1](#): > > I hope I am not alone in finding this saga one of the creepiest and bizarre true stories that I have ever heard. Indeed. I find it very distasteful. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/32 "2013-09-11T18:39:52Z")
Murder, assault, homicide and homocide are offenses against the state (or in Canada, against the crown). The victim just happens to be the victim. Whether they consent or not only matters in situations where the actions are not unreasonable. For example, unlike real sports, hockey does not have serious consequences for fighting. (ā€œ2 minutes. Bad boy!ā€) Similarly, boxing allows punching each other in regulated fashion. However, where the action deviates beyond the implied consent of normal-for-the-sport body checks, punches, minor stick slashes, or collisions, then charges have been laid if the actions were excessive. The implication is that there is a limit to how much damage a person can consent to, and beyond that, if it was deliberately wanton, rather than accidental, you will be charged. Tackling a guy in football and he breaks his leg - accident. Whacking a guy over the head with a hockey stick from behind, and causing serious injury - charges. Iā€™m not up on my professional sports, but has there ever been a case in pro football where the tack was so vicious and outside the obvious rules of the game that the perp was charged? I guess the roblem in any such situation is proving the deliberate and wanton nature of the act - so it has to be pretty obviousā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/33 "2013-09-12T02:25:13Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > John and Adam each needs cash. They decide to "fight to the death"in front of spectators who each pay $100 for a ticket to watch. John dies, making Adam the winner, however Adam dies six hours later due to injuries sustained in the fight. > > Adamā€™s wife Edna takes the proceeds of the fight, per the agreement. > > Is anyone prosecuted? Was there a crime? Didnā€™t I see this in a movie? Johnny Cash was a gunfighter just passing through and maybe Kirk Douglas was a retired gunfighter who was married and struggling with a farm? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/34 "2013-09-12T05:46:44Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > You cannot legally consent to an illegal act. Yeah, this would be the principle that would make it a homicide regardless of any extenuating circumstances involving any agreement between them. First off, I think you need various licenses and permits to stage any kind of amateur fighting match, so if you didnā€™t do that youā€™re already breaking the law (again, regardless of whether all parties agreed). If it was held as a legal boxing or whatever match, I donā€™t think that merely agreeing to it being a ā€˜deathmatchā€™ would be in and of itself illegal. If however either party succeeded in killing the other they would simply still be guilty of premeditated murder (and various other people who aided and/or allowed it to happen would most likely be charged with various things as well). Any contract that involves illegal activities has absolutely no legal bearing. Be like if your drug dealer signed a contract and then ripped you off. Youā€™re both engaging in a criminal activity, there would be no civil issues or recourse involved. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449/35 "2013-09-14T13:24:02Z")
> [@Animastryfe](#): > > I do not understand the reasoning here. If the pistols were accurate, then one could reliably intentionally miss, even when aiming near the opponent. If we take the limit of inaccuracy as it goes to infinity, then the duelists would have to aim far away from their opponents so that the bullet could not possibly hit their opponents, barring ricochets. The thing is, firearms up until the early-mid 19th century were generally not very accurate at all (Thereā€™s a reason contemporary military doctrine focussed on volley fire so strongly). Having a gun that would reliably hit (and likely kill or severely wound) oneā€™s opponent in a duel was seen as not really being cricket, basically. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-arranged-fight-to-the-death-a-crime/668449.md?page=1)