The explorers are members of the Speluncean Society. The explorers knew the danger of their work in the caves. Whetmore Roger led the Speluncean explorers. The mission went wrong when a landslide occurred during their exploration. At the time of the incident, the explorers were trapped in the mouth of the cave. The effect of the landslide blocked their escape route. The entrance caved in trapping them inside the cave. The men carried little food supplies. Their absence prompted a search and rescue team to explore their cave. The rescue operations took longer time due to the occurrence of more landslides. Communication was established with the trapped men and support rendered through verbal assistance to the wounded and starved. The trapped men ran out of food and asked the rescue team to speed up their work. They asked the rescue team if it is right to eat their kind. The rescue team declined to give any answer to their question. Whetmore led the team and took charge during and after the communication. He declined his initial decision to cast lots in the team. The team member agreed to cast lots and Whetmore was killed afterwards. The men survive twenty-five days in the cave after killing their colleague. They trapped men regained freedom after ten more days. They were later charged with the murder of Roger Whetmore.
The trial of the Speluncean explorers is not about natural law or positivism. By law, he who kills another will be killed. The Speluncean case was about the philosophy of life. The tendency of being unfortunate was the cause of their actions. The judge found the defendants guilty of murder and sentenced to death. The judge explained his stand on the principle of the law and not by interpreting the law. Another twist to the verdict lies in the opinion that Whetmore was guilty of a criminal offence. Roger Whetmore agreed to use lots in solving their situation. He is part of the team and should be part of the defendants. During their communication, roger question the rescue team and devised the idea of casting lots. Roger became desperate to solve their problem by any means available. This is the only solution at their disposal and the men knew this fact.
Compare and contrast
The verdict given by different judges correlated another. The opinions of the judges differed based on personal conviction. The law governs the people and the people decide who govern them. Their leaders must follow the wishes of the majority. If the masses believe the defendants should be set free, the law must set them free. The verdict would be set aside and public opinion enforced. The defendants fought a fight for survival. They risked the life of one man for the safety of the remaining teams. If the testimony of the four accused members could not change the verdict, the judge must have followed natural law.
The Speluncean case is complex. The judge has a duty to give a verdict but the reason for the verdict should not be technical. The decision of their conviction is insignificant compared to the implementation of justice. When a crime is committed the offenders are punished and justice is served. The correlation between the punishment and the objective of the trial found.