The content of this paper will address an ethical dilemma from a recent news story. It will identify the nature of the dilemma and the ethical issue that was made concerning the matter. Next, it will identify alternative courses of action and the outcome of the situation. In addition, it will identify the themes of peacemaking. Then, compare and contrast between utilitarianism and deontology. Ethics is defined as what is considered to be right or wrong behavior. This behavior may be influenced by a person’s upbringing or religion. Moreover, it is a belief system of moral values that a person chooses to live by.
Society expects individuals to abstain from committing wrongful acts and to uphold a moral belief system. Nevertheless, a person may choose to engage in unethical behavior if he or she believes that they can get away with it. Ethical dilemmas not only involve people who commit wrongful behavior, it also involves individuals who stand by and watch others commit wrongful acts and keep silent. New developments in a case involving LSU police using excessive force has brought attention to the unethical behavior that is being committed by law enforcement.
An altercation took place at a Cracker Barrel gas station between Officer Kerry Morgan and Roderick Carolina. Officer Morgan almost accidentally hit Carolina as he was backing out of a parking space. After Carolina confronted Morgan, the officer sprayed Carolina with mace, beat his head over the hood of the police car, and handcuffed him (Shannon, 2014).
The Essay on Finders keepers my ethical dilemma
Introduction My mother always told me I must learn to think for myself, question a situation and most importantly, I must learn to say ‘NO’, cause when the devil shows or makes you an unbelievable offer it’s harder than you think to say ‘NO’. Regardless of ethnicity, religion or culture when faced with a moral dilemma there is no telling how you would react or what your decision will be, even if ...
The officer committed a wrongful act by using excessive force when he was confronted with the issue. Morgan was obviously upset because Carolina confronted him after he was almost hit by the police car.
The officer became very aggressive and acted out by beating and arresting Carolina. Not only was the behavior unethical, it was illegal. The officer could have addressed the issue in a better way by apologizing to Carolina. It was also discovered that the officer was out of his jurisdiction when the incident occurred and a lawsuit was filed against the state (Shannon, 2014).
A judge made an ethical decision to release Carolina from jail, however, his guilt or innocence was never adjudicated due to the circumstances of the case.
The district attorney’s office dismissed all criminal charges on the account that the officer was out of his jurisdiction at the time of the incident. Nevertheless, Carolina is suing for damages and injuries he incurred from the police officer. Some experts in police conduct and procedure described this incident as a great violation of every rule in the book (Shannon, 2014).
A recent article on human rights protection through criminal law reform examines the relationship between the rule of law, criminal law reform, and human rights standards.
National and International political leaders have faced many challenges in reforming the domestic criminal law framework. These challenges have called for the creation of more law reform tools to protect the rights of individuals. They have developed codes that are in full compliance with international human rights in the field of criminal proceedings (O’Conner, V, 2006) Three themes of peacemaking involve connectedness, care, and mindfulness. Connectedness demonstrates how human beings are integrally connected to other human beings and the environment.
It suggests that everyone and everything in the universe is naturally connected. It also explains the analogy of how the actions of individuals may greatly impact everyone around them. Caring gives a feminine approach of receptivity and responsiveness. It suggests that ethical caring is a reflection of natural caring, much like a mother caring for her child (Braswell, M. C. , McCarthy, B. R. , & McCarthy, B. J. 2012).
The Term Paper on William Stuntz the Pathological Politics Of Criminal Law
William Stuntz "The Pathological Politics of Criminal Law". INTRODUCTION While many factors that make positive sentencing reform rather problematic remain, different factors have come together at the beginning of the new century which made such reform more possible than it has been for a many years. On the other hand, as these critical factors are not likely to remain in adjustment for a long ...
Mindfulness gives individuals a sense of awareness and helps them to move from a single mind. It allows individuals to be fully aware of what is present and aware of the needs of others at the same time.
It also recommends meditation as a strategy to help individuals free themselves from conventional ways of thinking. This will also help individuals to be more mindful of making ethical decisions and to consider the consequences of their actions (Braswell, M. C. , McCarthy, B. R. , & McCarthy, B. J. 2012).
Utilitarianism is based upon the idea that all human beings seek and desire happiness. It is identified as pleasure with the absence of pain. Deontology, however, is the study of duty. This idea suggests that every person has a moral responsibility to perform certain actions, regardless of the consequences.
Utilitarianism weighs the positive benefits of apprehending criminals while protecting society against the negative consequences. Deontology focuses on what consequences will likely occur rather than the results of the behavior (Braswell, M. C. , McCarthy, B. R. , & McCarthy, B. J. 2012).
Nevertheless, Utilitarianism revolves around the outcome of happiness for the majority. It suggests that the ethical thing to do is to make decisions based on how many people would be happy with the outcome. Deontology depends on rules and moral laws to help individuals to make ethical decisions.
It causes individuals to look at both sides of a situation, regardless of the outcome and who it will make happy (Braswell, M. C. , McCarthy, B. R. , & McCarthy, B. J. 2012).
I believe that utilitarianism best describes human behavior because most people seem to make decisions based on how others might feel. For instance, people may make unethical decisions to be accepted by others, for popularity, or for the majority vote. Many political and personal decisions are made to appeal to the masses or what is considered to be beneficial for the majority.
The Essay on Does The Individual Really Make A Difference?
In the book Ten Questions, Charon argues that there are crucial variables that limit the impact that an individual can have throughout the course of one’s life. In the movie “From Here to Eternity,” the characters in the movie are perfect examples of an individual influencing one’s life. Charon gives us four levels of evaluation to see if the individual can make a difference in: their own lives, ...
This may be the reason why in most decision making the majority rule. This concept is often used in voting, making bets, or making rules. This paper has addressed an ethical dilemma from a recent news story. It identified the nature of the dilemma and the ethical issue that was made concerning the matter. Next, it identified an alternative course of action and the outcome of the situation. In addition, it identified the themes of peacemaking. Then, compared and contrasted between utilitarianism and deontology.
