Guilty? Or Innocent?

Scenario 1: A man loses his job due to pay cuts at his workplace. A few weeks later, his wife finds out she has an illness that, if left untreated, will result in her passing. Because the man is out of a job and funds are running low, he finds someone that would be willing to sell him medication at a severely reduced cost; however the catch is the man cannot ask where the medication came from or why it's being sold for such a cheap price. Since he believes it is the only way to save his wife, the man buys the medicine and gives it to her. After one week of taking the medication, her condition turns exponentially worse and she ends up dying. An autopsy shows she was poisoned by an unknown substance. An investigation ensues, and the man is being tried for murder since there is nothing to corroborate his story of being given the back-alley medication by an unknown person.

Do you think the man should be found guilty of murder, or do you believe he should be declared innocent?

• Guilty

• Innocent

Scenario 2: Two newly met high school friends, Eva and Kaitlyn, are planning on hanging out later this afternoon. Eva invites Kaitlyn over to her house to watch a movie and just laze around after a long day of school and work. So, later that evening, Kaitlyn heads over to Eva's house and they put on a movie. After the movie is finished, they realized they were both absolutely famished; however, all of the restaurants and pizza places around them were already closed by this time. Instead, Eva decides she'll cook something for the two of them. As Eva and Kaitlyn are eating their food, Kaitlyn begins to struggle as she realizes she can't breathe. Eva panics and, thinking Kaitlyn was choking, tries to unblock her throat. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn ends up passing away. As it turns out, Kaitlyn was deathly allergic sesame oil, which Eva had used in their meal. Because it was so late when they finished the movie and Eva was tired, she had completely forgotten about Kaitlyn's allergy, seeing as this was only their third time hanging out. Eva is taken in by authorities and told she is being charged with involuntary manslaughter and may face up tp fifteen years in prison.

Is Eva guilty of manslaughter? Or do you think she should be found innocent?

• Guilty

• Innocent

Scenario 3: Jason's parents will be out of town this weekend for his parents' 15th wedding anniversary. Jason, who is now thirteen, thinks this is a great opportunity for him to practice his authority and autonomy. So, he decides to invite his two friends over for the weekend to hang out. He chooses not to ask his parents for permission first because not only does he not want to bother them, but he also doesn't think he should have to get their consent now that he's grown up. The two friends show up to Jason's place Friday after school; neither the friends nor their parents know that Jason's parents aren't there. After playing a few rounds of video games, all three boys decide they want to swim in Jason's backyard pool. One of Jason's friends, Patrick, tries to do a backflip off of the waterfall rocks and into the pool. However, instead of splashing seamlessly into the water, Patrick slips and hits his head on the rocks and his body tumbles into the pool. When Patrick didn't move from the water after five minutes, Jason and his other friend began to panic and called 911. Patrick was soon pronounced dead. Jason's parents get a call from the police and they come back early out of ghastly concern. At the station, Jason's parents are then told they are being charged for involuntary manslaughter due to negligence of their pool, which is on their property. Jason's parents are also being sued by Patrick's grieving family.

Do you think it's right for Jason's parents to be deemed guilty of manslaughter? Or do you think Jason's parents should be found innocent of this crime?

• Guilty

• Innocent