The Knife on the Stairs

Inside a prison, an inmate stabbed another inmate many times. The wounded man then took up a knife and chased one of his attacker's companions up a staircase, where, in a reflexive struggle, he stabbed a correctional officer. Both the wounded inmate and the officer died. The attacker was convicted of first-degree murder for both deaths. For the officer's death the prosecution relied on the chain of events the stabbing set in motion, and the jury was told that if the wounded man was unconscious when he acted, the officer's death need only be a direct result of the defendant's act. The defence contended he could be responsible for the officer's death only if it was a foreseeable consequence of what he did.