Hypo for tomorrow: Defendant was a proprietor of a cigar store in a skid-row area of Philadelphia. Once of the items he had regularly stocked and sold was sterno, a canned heat containing methanol. Late in 1963 he received a single shipment of a new kind of sterno called "industrial" sterno, which contained a much higher percentage of methanol. This made it far more dangerous for persons to consume internally. Imprinted on the lids of the new sterno was the legend: "Institutional sterno. Danger. Poison. For use only as a fuel. Not for consumer use. For industrial and commercial use." The defendant sold approximately 400 cans of the new industrial sterno before returning the remainder of the shipment to the manufacturer. About 32 persons in the skid-row area died as a result of methanol poisoning caused by drinking the cans of industrial sterno sold by defendant. The record showed that the defendant was aware of the proclivity of some of his customers to consume the sterno for its intoxicating effect. There was also sufficient evidence to warrant the conclusion that the defendant was aware or should have been aware that the sterno he was selling was toxic if consumed. Did defendant cause the deaths? |
