Module 4 Reflection Help

Bluebook1010

Pollock_Ethics_10e_Ch11_PPT.pdf

Home >English homework help >Module 4 Reflection Help

Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in

Criminal Justice Tenth Edition

Chapter 11 The Ethics of

Punishment and

Corrections

Learning Objectives

1. Provide the definitions of punishment and treatment

and their rationales.

2. Describe how the ethical frameworks justify

punishment.

3. Describe the ethical rationales for and against capital

punishment.

4. Identify major themes from the ethical codes for

correctional officers, treatment professionals, and

probation and parole officers.

5. Explain how occupational subcultures affect adherence

to professional ethics codes.

Five Elements of Punishment

1. Two people involved, the punisher and the one being

punished.

2. The punisher inflicts harm on the one being punished.

3. The punisher is authorized by law to inflict the

punishment.

4. The one being punished has been judged to be in

violation of a criminal law.

5. The inflicted harm is meted out specifically as

punishment for that violation of criminal law.

Treatment (1 of 2)

• In correctional terminology, treatment is anything used

to induce behavioral change.

• The goals of treatment are:

– Elimination of dysfunctional or deviant behavior

– Encouragement of productive, normal behavior

Rationales for Punishment and Corrections

• The social contract provides the rationale for

punishment and corrections.

– We avoid social chaos by giving the state the power to

control us.

– The state is limited in the amount of control it can exert

over individuals.

– For consistency with the social contract, the state

should exert its power only to protect.

– Any further interventions with civil liberties are

warranted.

Retribution

• The retributive rationale for punishment is consistent

with the social contract theory and argues that the

individual offender must be punished because he or she

deserves it.

Prevention Rationale

• Assumes that something should be done to the

offender to prevent future criminal activity

• Preventive methods include:

– Deterrence

– Incapacitation

– Treatment

Deterrence

• Specific Deterrence:

– Preventing a particular offender from deciding to commit

another offense

– Teaching through punishment

• General Deterrence:

– Prevent others in general from deciding to engage in

wrongful behavior

– Teaching by example

Incapacitation

• Holding an offender until there is no risk of further

crime.

• Because incapacitation is predictive:

– We might release an offender who commits further

crimes.

– We might not release an offender who would not commit

further crimes.

Three-Strikes Laws

• Are these laws justified under retribution, deterrence, or

incapacitation?

• Supreme Court holdings of Lockyer v. Andrade and

Ewing v. California

Treatment (2 of 2)

• Treatment is considered beneficial for both society and

the individual offender.

• The control over the individual is just as great as with

punishment.

• Courts define treatment as “that which constitutes

accepted and standard practice and which could

reasonably result in a ‘cure.’”

• Much of the treatment in the correctional environment is

either implicitly or directly coerced.

• No single program works for all offenders.

Ethical Frameworks for Corrections

• Utilitarianism: treatment, incapacitation, deterrence (we

punish to benefit the majority)

• Ethical formalism: retribution (we punish because the

offender deserves it)

• Ethics of care: restorative justice (we punish only if it is

necessary to meet the needs of all involved)

• Rawlsian ethics: A loss of rights should take place only

when it is consistent with the best interests of the least

advantaged.

Punishments

• The American criminal justice system has adopted

prison as a standard form of punishment.

• Imprisonment does not carry the physical pains of

flogging or mutilation.

• Imprisonment is painful because it involves:

– banishment,

– condemnation,

– separation from loved ones,

– deprivation of freedom, and

– an assault on one's self-esteem.

• Prisons are extremely expensive.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

• Unusual (by frequency): Punishments that are rarely used

become unusual.

• Evolving standards of decency: Punishments acceptable in

the past (flogging) may not be acceptable today.

• Shock the conscience: A punishment is cruel and unusual if

it shocks the public conscience.

• Excessive or disproportionate: Any punishment that is

disproportionately administered or excessive to its purpose

is considered wrong.

• Unnecessary: The purpose of punishment is to deter crime;

only an amount necessary to do so should be administered.

“Shaming” Punishments

• Stigmatizing shaming rejects the individual and may

have negative effects.

• Reintegrative shaming rejects only the person's

behavior, thus creating a healthier relationship between

the individual and his or her community.

Supermax Prisons

• Prison authorities have long segregated the most notorious

prisoners into special units.

• Today, some states have constructed the most secure

facilities, referred to as supermax prisons.

• Supermax conditions are extremely harsh, including

individual separation of all inmates around the clock and

limited recreational activity.

• Challenges due to conditions, procedures, and who is sent

there (non-violent, mentally ill).

Capital Punishment

• Does failure to apply capital punishment fairly invalidate

its use?

• The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against executing:

– Mentally ill

– Mentally handicapped

– Juveniles (under 18)

Should Punishment be Profitable?

• In many cases, poverty, and not the seriousness of the

crime, is inextricably linked to how long someone is

enmeshed in the criminal justice system.

• Proponents argue that private corrections can save the

state money. Private corporations are said to be more

efficient; they can build faster with less cost and less red

tape, and they have economies of scale.

• A very troublesome element of privately run detainee

centers and prisons is that they have been ruled exempt

from open-records laws, which apply to public agencies.

Formal Ethics for Correctional Professionals

• Common across all ethics codes:

– Integrity

– Respect for and protection of individual rights

– Service to the public

– Importance and sanctity of the law

– Prohibition against exploiting professional authority for

personal gain

The Correctional Officer Subculture

• May consider inmates, superiors, and society in general

as “the enemy”

• Accepts use of force as a routine job element

• Shows a tendency to redefine job roles to meet

minimum requirements only

• Shows a willingness to use deceit to cover up

wrongdoing by staff

The Probation/Parole Officer Subculture

• Cynicism toward clients

• Lethargy from heavy caseloads and poor pay

• Individualism: an officer running his or her caseload in

the manner he or she sees fit

Discussion Questions

1. Do you think punishments should become progressively

more severe? Or be consistent regardless of the number of

repeat offenses? Explain.

2. Under the ethics of care system, punishment should only be

carried out if it is essential to help the offender become a

better person. Do you believe punishments can do that? Are

there punishments that are more or less effective?

3. Do you believe punishment should be profitable? If so,

where do you draw the line? Should there be more fees?

Fewer? Why?

4. Can you recommend methods of improving the morale of

parole officers and positively influencing the subculture?