# Would it have been (morally) murder if a slave killed his master?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-have-been-morally-murder-if-a-slave-killed-his-master/564546>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [December 17, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-have-been-morally-murder-if-a-slave-killed-his-master/564546 "2010-12-17T19:19:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 71

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**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\
**Post date:** [December 18, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-have-been-morally-murder-if-a-slave-killed-his-master/564546/71 "2010-12-18T22:49:23Z")

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> [@AClockworkMelon](#):
>
> I think he meant “morally-justified homicide”.

> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> It means that the killing in question is morally unjustified.

So what does it mean for a homicide to be “morally justified”?

> [@orcenio](#):
>
> This is really a no brainer.
> 
> Like **Der Trihs** , I’d even go as far as to say that I think a slave has every right to kill **anything** that stands in their way to gaining freedom. It isn’t even a matter of dead person’s level of sainthood or whatever… If they, legitimately, pose a threat to a slave’s escape from slavery then they’re ‘fair game;’ be them man, woman or child.
> 
> Sick situation, but that’s not the slave’s fault.

So, if I live in a society with slavery, and I know that a particular slave has adopted your view, I would be morally justified (using your words–I don’t know what those words mean) if I killed that slave, right?

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