# What crime would someone be charged with if they chose not to save someone's life?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 4, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202 "2016-04-04T22:34:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/1 "2016-04-04T22:34:51Z")
I was debating with my friends about something that happened in a TV show (Don’t remember which show unfortunately)
Anyway, one of us said that one of the characters was a murderer, because he could have saved someone who was in danger, but deliberately chose not to. This character was not the one who put the victim in danger.
If that happened in real life, would it actually be considered murder? Or more along the lines of criminal negligence?
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### Author:  [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/2 "2016-04-04T22:36:07Z")
Breaking Bad?
I don’t think any charges could be filed, but I’m not certain.
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### Author:  [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/3 "2016-04-04T22:42:23Z")
Depraved indifference?
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/4 "2016-04-04T22:50:27Z")
It’s only negligence if you have a duty of care to the other person, which must be established in some way. A doctor letting their patient die would certainly be liable, as would a parent for their child. A teacher letting a student die might be liable. A random stranger, certainly not. A peer, probably not.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/5 "2016-04-04T23:37:10Z")
The fear of being liable for harm caused in the attempt to help someone is real and sometimes justifiable, to the extent that many jurisdictions have had to pass Good Samaritan laws to protect people from prosecution if they are legitimately trying to help a person in need. Without such laws you could certainly be liable if your attempt to help someone makes things worse; for example you kill someone by moving them from where they were injured instead of letting medical professionals take over.
I have never heard of a legal requirement to help a stranger, if it exists I’m sure it’s rare. I’m also sure it would be counterproductive, causing people to avoid cries for help so that they could plausibly deny being in the vicinity and avoiding the obligation to help someone.
Of course if people are in your care you could be liable as Chronos stated. A lifeguard ignoring a person in trouble might be another example.
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### Author:  [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/6 "2016-04-04T23:42:31Z")
I always wondered this about Bette Davis’s famous scene in _The Little Foxes_. Since no one else was around to witness it, she let her husband struggle and die while trying reach his heart medication. She was suspected, but I wondered if she could be arrested or held liable in any way even if anyone could prove he died due to her delay.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/7 "2016-04-04T23:44:27Z")
[Wikpedia has a general summary about the duty to rescue.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_rescue) In Common Law jurisdictions, it works out like this:
> [@](#):
>
> In the common law of most anglosphere countries, there is no general duty to come to the rescue of another.[1] Generally, a person cannot be held liable for doing nothing while another person is in peril.[2][3] However, such a duty may arise in two situations:
> [ul]
> [li] **A duty to rescue arises where a person creates a hazardous situation. If another person then falls into peril because of this hazardous situation, the creator of the hazard – who may not necessarily have been a negligent tortfeasor – has a duty to rescue the individual in peril.[4]**[/li][li] Such a duty may also arise where a “special relationship” exists. For example:[/li][list]
> [li] Parents have a duty to rescue their minor children. This duty also applies to those acting in loco parentis, such as schools or babysitters.[5][/li][li] **Common carriers have a duty to rescue their patrons.** [6][/li][li] Employers have an obligation to rescue employees, under an implied contract theory.[7][/li][li] In some U.S. jurisdictions, real property owners have a duty to rescue invitees but not trespassers from all reasonably foreseeable dangers on the property. **Other jurisdictions, such as California, extend the duty to rescue to all persons who enter upon real property regardless whether they are classified as invitees, social guests or trespassers.** [8][/li][li] Spouses have a duty to rescue each other in all U.S. jurisdictions.[9][/li][li] **In the United States, as of 2009 ten states had laws on the books requiring that people at least notify law enforcement of and/or seek aid for strangers in peril under certain conditions: California,[10][11] Florida,[10][12][13] Hawaii,[10][14] Massachusetts,[10][15] Minnesota,[10][16] Ohio,[10][17] Rhode Island,[10][18] Vermont,[10][19] Washington,[10][20][21] and Wisconsin.[10][22] These laws are also referred to as Good Samaritan laws, despite their difference from laws of the same name that protect individuals who try to help another person.**[1] These laws are rarely applied, and are generally ignored by citizens and lawmakers.[1][/li][/ul][/list]
> Where a duty to rescue arises, the rescuer must generally act with reasonable care, and can be held liable for injuries caused by a reckless rescue attempt. However, many states have limited or removed liability from rescuers in such circumstances, particularly where the rescuer is an emergency worker. Furthermore, the rescuers need not endanger themselves in conducting the rescue.
I’ve bolded cases where it might be illegal to _not_ rescue, or at the very least illegal to _ignore_, a total stranger.
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### Author:  [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/8 "2016-04-05T00:18:27Z")
The OP is asking about criminal sanctions, but it seems to me the bulk of the responses are discussing whether there is any civil liability for a failure to rescue.
I think there are only a very few states currently imposing a criminal penalty for failing to report or rescue the victim of an emergency. More states criminalize the failure to report instances of specific victims of specific crimes – that is, anyone who is aware of a minor who is the victim of sexual assault, for instance, must report it or face criminal penalties.
We discussed this issue several years ago:
> [@Statute of Limitations: time to rethink in view of Catholic molestation situation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/statute-of-limitations-time-to-rethink-in-view-of-catholic-molestation-situation/650475/11):
>
> Absent a specific crime that California created, unfortunately, I don’t see a violation of criminal law. The reason is that – surprising to many people – there is no general duty to report a crime. So if you became aware of a crime and fail to report it, you aren’t generally breaking the law.
>
> Perhaps the most in-your-face, horrifying example of this was the sexual assault and murder of seven-year-old Sherrice Iverson by Jeremy Strohmeyer. Strohmeyer lured Sherrice into a casino restroom, molested her, and killed her. His friend David Cash witnessed the crime – actually saw Strohmeyer grabbing and fondling Sherrice in [the] restroom. Cash left; Strohmeyer followed twenty minutes later and confessed he had killed the girl. Cash did nothing.
>
> After Strohmeyer was identified by casino cameras and arrested, there was an outcry for Cash to be punished in some way as well. After extensive investigaton, the authorities concluded that his conduct was simply not illegal.
>
> The case did lead to the state passing a new law requiring that anyone with reasonable suspicion that a child younger than 18 is being sexually abused or violently treated must report it.
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### Author:  [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/9 "2016-04-05T01:04:30Z")
> **[Good Samaritans Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc.](https://definitions.uslegal.com/g/good-samaritans/)**
>
> A good samaritan in legal terms refers to someone who renders aid in an emergency to an injured person on a voluntary basis. Usually, if a volunteer comes to the aid of an injured or ill person who
There is the 'Good Samaritan Law ’ I posted a link about it.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/10 "2016-04-05T01:31:27Z")
Huh, I didn’t realize that there were states where everyone was a mandatory reporter for child abuse. I don’t think Ohio is one, though I’m a mandatory reporter anyway due to my jobs.
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### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/11 "2016-04-05T02:20:52Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#):
>
> Depraved indifference?
As I understand it, that refers to _actively committing_ an act with the knowledge that it has a high probability of harming or killing someone. I believe the OP is referring to passive non-action.
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### Author:  [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/12 "2016-04-05T02:58:26Z")
Except for certain categories of occupations, no one is legally required to attempt to rescue someone else. I do, however, hope that you can at least manage to pull out your cell phone and call 911 if you observe someone in distress.
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### Author:  [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/13 "2016-04-05T11:05:32Z")
In Germany that would be [section 323c](http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p2774) of the [penal code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strafgesetzbuch):
> [@](#):
>
> Section 323c
> Omission to effect an easy rescue
>
> Whosoever does not render assistance during accidents or a common danger or emergency although it is necessary and can be expected of him under the circumstances, particularly if it is possible without substantial danger to himself and without violation of other important duties shall be liable to **imprisonment** not exceeding **one year** or a fine.
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### Author:  [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/14 "2016-04-05T13:16:17Z")
> [@Bricker](#):
>
> The OP is asking about criminal sanctions, but it seems to me the bulk of the responses are discussing whether there is any civil liability for a failure to rescue.
Are there civil liabilities?
I am walking down the street. I see a man beating a woman with a baseball bat. I do nothing - I don’t call 911, I don’t attempt to intervene, I just continue walking and forget all about it. I am not in fear of my life, I don’t know either party, I just don’t care, and, when the police question me later, I just say “it was none of my business”. Have I breached a duty of care? Am I civilly liable because I didn’t do anything, however slight?
On a possibly related note, the person who killed Kitty Genovese died today. AFAIK nobody was held liable in that case for not calling the cops.
Regards,
Shodan
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/15 "2016-04-05T13:21:07Z")
That probably depends on where you are.
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/16 "2016-04-05T13:25:24Z")
> [@Shodan](#):
>
> Are there civil liabilities?
>
> I am walking down the street. I see a man beating a woman with a baseball bat. I do nothing - I don’t call 911, I don’t attempt to intervene, I just continue walking and forget all about it. I am not in fear of my life, I don’t know either party, I just don’t care, and, when the police question me later, I just say “it was none of my business”. Have I breached a duty of care? Am I civilly liable because I didn’t do anything, however slight?
Yes, but not under the circumstances you describe. You have the _right_ to intervene to prevent a felony (like the battery in your scenario) including using reasonable force, but not the _duty_.
Generally, an ordinary person (that is, one who is not a peace officer or some other public servant who might be expected to intervene) owes no duty to protect others from harms they did not cause or create.
So if you are hanging from a cliff by your fingertips, I have no duty to help you up unless the reason you’re there is that I pushed you.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/17 "2016-04-05T14:27:43Z")
Or unless there’s a relationship between you that creates such a duty.
And as others have already reported, in some jurisdictions you might at least be required to call the police, even if you don’t give help yourself.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/18 "2016-04-05T14:36:15Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#):
>
> In Germany that would be [section 323c](http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p2774) of the [penal code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strafgesetzbuch):
The Spanish situation is similar, in that it only affects the general populace in case of an accident (traffic or otherwise). There are more stringent requirements in certain specific cases, such as the duties of a medical professional or a parent. Someone who doesn’t know what to do or freaks out in an emergency won’t get in trouble, but every year there are a few cases of people being taken into custody while their caretakers are investigated for “criminal neglect (with or without a result of death)” - I’m translating the Spanish terms as literally as possible.
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/19 "2016-04-05T14:48:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Huh, I didn’t realize that there were states where everyone was a mandatory reporter for child abuse. I don’t think Ohio is one, though I’m a mandatory reporter anyway due to my jobs.
As a general relativity physicist?
(That’s a joke. I’m sure you have many activities you don’t share with the TM.)
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 5, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-crime-would-someone-be-charged-with-if-they-chose-not-to-save-someones-life/751202/20 "2016-04-05T20:16:03Z")
As a substitute teacher and as a camp counselor. I don’t have much opportunity to do GR any more, though I did get to teach it to some fourth graders a few weeks ago.
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