Assignment: Analyze the Ethical Behavior of Correction Officers That Can Lead to Prisoners' Deaths
Inmate abuse, corruption, violence, and inmate deaths have been reported throughout the last decade. Now, imagine you observe this incident as a training officer in a jail in the United States. An inmate with mentally illness died after being left in an overheated cell. Since the closure of many mental health institutions, jails are housing a large population of inmates with mental illness.
In many jails and prisons, the sanitary conditions are inhumane, with raw sewage spilling out of the toilets. Officers handed out diluted detergent to the inmates to reduce the smell. An inexperienced officer gave the full packets to the inmates. One inmate swallowed the detergent, resulting in extreme pain and bleeding from the mouth for hours. The officer reported the incident to the captain, who did not want to be bothered with the incident unless the inmate is dead. Despite the warning, the officer reported again to the captain twice, requesting medical assistance for the inmate. The inmate died the next morning.
After an internal and criminal investigation, the captain was demoted and arrested by the FBI and prosecuted for violating the civil rights of Mr. Echevarria, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The officer was fired and filed a wrongful-termination suit disputing the captain's claim that he was never told about the inmate's health crises.
1. Evaluate the incident and create a memorandum for the officers at the jail reminding them of their ethical duties.
2. Identify the theories of ethics the officer and the captain violated.
3. Develop an action plan to promote ethical behavior by officers and evaluate current research on programs improving ethics among law enforcement officers.
4. Indicate the resistance you expect to the new plan, and then explain how you would overcome it.
5. Determine if it is ethical to house inmates with mentally illness in jail.
Length: 8 pages
References: Include a minimum of fifteen scholarly resources.
Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic.