For each of the three (3) scenarios, your assignment is to:
Examine each situation and describe the ethical and/or moral question,
Describe what you believe to be the motivation of the actor and the potential consequences of BOTH/EACH options,
Identify the decision you believe the actor SHOULD make, and
Provide the ethical basis for your decision.
Connect the ethical basis for your decision to ethical theories introduced at the beginning of the course and explain the rational for this connection.
Each decision must be considered separately and not be influenced by earlier decisions and/or actions.
Jeffery saw the demonstration of business owners in the hallway when he entered the courthouse that morning.
They were chanting "Justice for our victims" and were demanding a lengthy prison sentence. The Pre-Sentence Investigation report said
Wilson was suffering from acute addiction and associated mental problems that had caused these violent (but not criminal) outbreaks in the past.
There is no information in the file that Wilson has ever received treatment for his disorders. Jeffery knows that, due to budget cuts,
the state prison system has very little in the way of addictive or behavioral disorder treatment programs. The prisons had reverted to merely warehousing inmates.
However, he had read that the county jail had received a federal grant to establish exactly the kind of services that it appeared Wilson needed.
Obviously, he had no way of knowing if this or any treatment would be successful for Wilson.
Sentencing guidelines were established to ensure that defendants convicted of similar offenses received similar punishments. According to the sentencing guidelines,
Wilson should be sentenced to 5-7 years in the state correctional prison system. Jeffery knows that the business community was calling for the maximum sentence.
The county jail only took inmates sentenced to eighteen months or less. What sentence should Judge Owens impose on Mr. Wilson?