"Habeas Corpse", Way to Die #64, is the first death to be featured in "Unforced Errors", which aired on February 8, 2009.
Plot[]
Ian Campbell was impressed with his law firm's new office, but the one thing Ian was impressed with the most was himself. One of his favorite pastimes was hitting on the firm's new female associates. Ian had a joke he liked to play to impress the ladies: in a conference room on the 40th floor, he'd get a running start and throw himself into the window. The tempered glass would always bounce him back, but this time, the window shatters after his Rolex hits it first. He falls 40 stories and dies from a shattered skull, his brain herniated onto the streets, and a broken spinal cord. Sending him to the purgatory.
Transcript[]
(Epic Death is playing, view of Los Angeles is shown from the office)
Ian: Great view, isn't it?
Narrator: Ian Campbell was very impressed with his law firm's new offices.
(Ian previously speaks to these 2 in the office table)
Narrator: But the one thing Ian was impressed with, was himself.
Ian: Did you know I have a Lamborghini?
Narrator: One of his favorite pastimes was hitting on the firm's new female associates.
(Ian touches the female worker, causes the male worker to displease, later, Ian shows his office)
Narrator: You would think a smart lawyer would know better, but Ian was a sexual harassment case in a $1,000 suit.
Okorie Okorocha: Partners and law firms, have a lot of power and influence over the careers of brand new associate. You really need this job, and you really at this guy's mercy.
(Back to the view of LA is shown from the office)
Ian: Great view, isn't it?
Narrator: Ian had a prank he liked to play to impress the ladies: in a conference room on the 40th floor, he'd get a running start and throw himself into the window.
(Ian runs to the window, which would surprise 2 new workers)
Narrator: The tempered glass would always bounce him back.
(As an exception, it bounces back)
Laurel Herter: The tempered glass is just unpredictable.
(Rewind the view of LA)
Laurel Herter: Was developed as a safety technique, so that um... people would get cut on, but on sudden impact, it can just explode.
Ian: This building's amazing. Watch this.
(Ian is about to ram to the window, which would surprise 2 new workers)
Narrator: Maybe this sleazebag lawyer just ran out of luck... or maybe it was the way his Rolex caught the glass... because Ian took a running start...
(Predictably, Ian smashes the window, falling 40 stories)
Ian: AAAAAGHHH!
Narrator: and never stopped.
(2 new workers are now in shock)
Male Worker: Oh my god!!!
(Replay of Ian shatters the glass)
Ian: (SCREAMS)
Dr. Khyber Zaffarkhan: Once he discovered that their eminent death is there, they... most likely would have pissed on themselves.
Narrator: I say. (Only used in the UK Version)
(CGI human falls, smashes his own skull and spinal cord)
Dr. Khyber Zaffarkhan: He probably died instantaneously, from the skull shattering on the ground and his brain herniating out the street. His... spine probably shattered, along with his skull and... severing his spinal cord, killing him.
Cast & Interviewees[]
- Lee McDermott - Ian Campbell (Lead: Intended victim)
- Okorie Okorocha - Attorney
- Laurel Herter - Glass Designer
- Dr. Khyber Zaffarkhan - Physical Medicine & Rehab
Trivia[]
- Habeas Corpse is a pun on the legal term, "Habeas Corpus". In Latin, it means "You may have your body" and it's a meaning for someone to be released from unlawful detention.
- This was the first death narrated by Ron Perlman.
- It's also the first death to use the new death cards.
- This death is the winner of a Darwin Award.
- This is the first death interviewed by Dr. Khyber Zaffarkhan.
- This is one of two deaths that took place on May 1, 1998, with the other being Die-Brator.
- This death also takes place exactly 30 years after Hair Today, Dead Tomorrow, both in the state of California.
- The picture in the end was in motion, the same as Samurai Death Squad, Anger Damagement, Cream-ated, Withdrawn, Waste Dead and Electro-Cutie.
- This death was #7 in WatchMojo's "Top 10 1000 Ways to Die Deaths".
- Ironically the previous death and the next two deaths (by number) all involve falling. (Falling Down On The Job, Somewhere Over The Railing and Guitar Zeros.)
- The CGI was reused for Dumb Skull.
A non-copyrighted video on Google Drive
Segment Nicknames[]
- Drop Dead Attorney
Real Life Story[]
This is based on the death of Garry Hoy, who fell to his death while trying to prove the glass wouldn't shatter. He ran against the window, forcing out the glass pane and then fell out of the window immediately after.
Garry Hoy (January 28, 1954 – July 9, 1993) was a Canadian lawyer who died when he fell from the 24th floor of his office building at the Toronto-Dominion Centre in Toronto, Ontario. In an attempt to prove to a group of prospective articling students that the building's glass windows were unbreakable, he threw himself against the glass. The glass did not break when he hit it, but the window frame gave way and Hoy fell to his death.
Hoy was a corporate and securities law specialist for the law firm of Holden Day Wilson in Toronto. While giving a tour of the Toronto-Dominion Centre to a group of articling students, he attempted to demonstrate the strength of the structure's window glass by slamming himself into a window. He had apparently performed this stunt many times in the past, having previously bounced harmlessly off the glass. After one attempt which saw the glass hold up, Hoy tried once more. In this instance, the force of Hoy slamming into the window removed the window from its frame, causing the entire intact window and Hoy to fall from the building.
Structural engineer Bob Greer was quoted by the Toronto Star as saying, "I don't know of any building code in the world that would allow a 160-pound [73 kg] man to run up against a glass and withstand it." In another interview, the firm's spokesman mentioned that the glass, in fact, did not break, but popped out of its frame, leading to Hoy's fatal plunge. Unfortunately, he lost his own life on the spotlight.
Hoy's death contributed to the closing of Holden Day Wilson in 1996, which at the time was the largest law firm closure in Canada.
In popular culture, Hoy's experience was featured in numerous television shows, including MythBusters and 1000 Ways to Die (in the episode "Unforced Errors").
Hoy's death was also adapted as a fictionalized plot point in the fifth series of Canadian dramedy series Workin' Moms and the second series of Canadian comedy series Billable Hours. In the opening of the second season, episode 1, "Birthday Suits", a lawyer attempts to demonstrate the strength of the office building windows by throwing himself against one of them, but the window shatters and he falls to his death.
Foreign Names[]
- Corporación Cadaver (Corpse Corporation) - Mexican Spanish dub
- Hábeas Cadaver - Latin American Spanish dub
- Hábeas Cuerpo (Habeas Body) - European Spanish dub
- Tief gefallen (Low Fallen) - German dub
Gallery[]
