Criminal Justice Ethics
Name of the Student
Institution
Criminal Justice Ethics
Jailhouse informants are placed in jail to get information from their fellow prisoners to use this information as a testimony of the criminals’ evidence. Most jailhouse informants are not as trustworthy after being gifted after giving out the needed testimonies. Most prosecutors are aware that not all the informants but they cannot resist their testimonies. They, in fact, provide false information to make the information appear to be true. This is unethical behavior. The jailhouse informants are the major causes of wrongful convictions, which leads to innocent people being sent to prison.
Jailhouse informants and other dishonest experts have been considered as the cause of wrongful convictions. In most cases, their evidence is false because they are convinced to support wrong information in return for some gifts. Those defendants who are convicted regarding the jailhouse informants’ testimonies always seek reversal because the use normally convicts them of wrong evidence (Wetmore, 2020). In presenting their claims, the persecutors introduce false information knowingly to prove the defendants guilty. The persecutors do not correct the information of jailhouse informants even after realizing that information is wrong. From the case of Badpenny, it is clear that Scandella is giving out wrong information against her. The testimonies of the jailhouse informants result in the suffering of innocent individuals. The testimony from jailhouse informants violates a great number of constitutional, procedural, and evidentiary laws. Jailhouse informants may result in DNA testing (Yank, 2018). This is to enable the defendant to negate the accusation in the process of reversing the testimony.
Correctional officers many times are caught in a war between issues of ethics and subculture. These issues determine their office behaviors—the subculture results in questionable practices by officers. The correctional officers sometimes get engaged in certain types of ethical violations. This leads to the mistreatment of prisoners. Such ethical violations include inmate abuse, sexual abuse of the inmates, money malpractices, and personal misconduct. The correctional officers may let some subculture views control their way of approaching the job due to some questionable ethics. Officers with unethical behaviors may isolate themselves and consider the others as enemies and believe that violence against prisoners is not prohibited. These unethical behaviors can affect both the working environment and out of work perception of the correctional officer.
The correctional officers who practice the correct ethical behaviors are respected due to portraying positive behaviors. The correct ethical behaviors include; fair treatment t of the prisoners, correct use of force without mistreating prisoners, use of discretion, and following the law correctly. Ethical systems are important in helping us to identify whether the decisions we make are ethical or unethical. Ethical systems give us different perceptions about issues as well as guiding us in making the right decision. Various system of the ethical system includes; Normative ethics, Applied ethics, and Metaethics. The Normative ethical system is reflected in the way the correctional officers treat Badpenny. Badpenny, while at jail waiting for her case, the jailers deny her some requirements upon asking for when she asks to use a phone, take a shower, or get commissary her request.
In conclusion, jailhouse informants are the main cause of wrongful convictions, which results in innocent litigation, whereby innocent people are sent to prison. In many cases, the prosecutors try to defend the informants’ testimonies despite knowing that the information provided is false. The correctional officers also may exercise other unethical behaviors, which led to the mistreatment of prisoners.
References
Wetmore, S. A., Neuschatz, J. S., Fessinger, M. B., Bornstein, B. H., & Golding, J. M. (2020). Do Judicial Instructions Aid in Distinguishing Between Reliable and Unreliable Jailhouse Informants?. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47(5), 582-600.
Yank, C., Bebar, S., Kaufmann, H., & Tiberi, C. (2018). Testimony for Hire: Jailhouse Informants.