Ethical Treatment of Prisoners Essay

Some people believe the history of department of corrections shows continuous movement toward more humane treatment of prisoners as smart set has progressed. In the beginning penaltys for prisoners were considered a corporal penalization which was whipping, beheading, dismembering, torture or even death. There was fines, dispersion of property were parkland which was more common than the physical torture. Execution was the economic and corporal penalisation as the earth was forfeited. The economic and physical sanctions nonplus given way of imprisonment less(prenominal) depreciation in the liberty of parole and probation.When there atomic number 18 thousands of crimes incarcerated passim the United States, the ethical treatment of prisoners rights must be analyzed. Through expose the years many modifications constitute been comprise to accommodate inmates and hold their basic human rights. Have we as a corporation through enough regarding the ethical treatment of priso ners or suck up we made their lives in prison too easy that it is no longer a punishment for them? There atomic number 18 many people in the United States who put on strong feelings of what is right and wrong and fall on both sides of this question.Utilitarianism is the touch that moral rules should be choices made by a society to shape up the happiness of its members Mosser (2010). Through the utilitarian view the argument could be made that these prisoners are being treated to good and not good enough. Utilitarianism gives an understandable, supposed foundation for moral conclusion making. Prior to coming to a decision upon a course of action, the utilitarian is asked to consider its effects on the blameless population over an infinite period of clipping Mosser (2010).One worry with this method of decision-making is that many people might not agree with the lead that maximization of happiness should be the basis for morality. An example of this is an philia for an eye if you kill almostone in my family then I will have your life. In earlier history like the cowboy era this is how criminals were treated. Now, this is no longer accepted in our society. Our societys ethical determine have changed. For hundreds of years, prisoners had no rights. That is until 1909 when the Georgia domineering Court ruled that although convicts have lost their freedom they do have civil rights Davenport (2009).During this era, institutions were legally insubordinate in state and federal courts from fairnesssuits, also called the hands-off doctrine, wardens ran their facilities as they snarl necessary and were not held accountable for the conditions that existed in their facility Davenport (2009). Prisoners were beaten on a regular basis and denied the basics such as food, medical care, and protection from staff or other inmates. These types of incidents continued for many of years. In the 1960s several legal avenues opened for prisoners. Prisoners would now hav e the ability to have their grievances heard in state and federal courts.One of the major changes that enabled this is the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment another is the civil rights provisions of Section 1983 of call 42 of the U. S. Code Davenport (2009). The Eighth Amendment asserts that excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted Davenport (2009). The cruel and unusual punishment clause was not intended for prisoners rather the focus was on punishment outside the virtue. The clause also did not apply to state prisoners.The arbitrary Court heard very few cases in this era. In the 1960s, the Supreme Court began to incorporate the Bill of Rights to state laws. This meant the cruel and unusual punishment clause now included prisons and prisoners. Prisoners then began to charge up suits to change the way prisons operated, citing cruel and unusual punishment, inadequate healthcare, demandi ng more entrance fee to courts and due process. plurality who are employed in the justice dust have to exhibit strength of mind and body to prove they are worthy to be in charge of those who may be a danger to society.This fact alone places these individuals in a position of baron, and without a personal and professional code of ethics to live by this power could be taken out of context. This could lead to damage within the system, as well as out on the street. For these people must make moral decisions everyday. A personal set of ethics plunder a great deal be hard to define. Ethics are not on a persons mind as they make various choices throughout the day. When a person sub-consciously makes one judgment or another, they are not aware that ethics plays a role in the decisions that are made.In examining ethical egoism and utilitarianism my personal view is definitely closer to utilitarianism than ethical egoism. Utilitarianism is an exceedingly, even extremely demanding moral view for close to people. If we have a craft to always bring about the best outcome, than any time we can increase the well-being of others, we have a moral duty to do so. I believe it is morally better to help the most people at a time than to serve the self pertain of one person. The thousands of crimes incarcerated throughout the United States had their day in court and are now housed in a penal institution to serve out their sentence.As a society we have passed ethical laws to protect the prisoners against persecute from others and to make sure they are treated with respect. Through the eyes of utilitarianism arguments are made that these prisoners are being treated to good by some and not good enough by others. Regardless of which theories or ethical beliefs a person chooses to believe in they must pursue the law or they could end up as a prisoner in the United States. Those in the justice system sworn to protect prisoners can not choose to follow their own beliefs but the y must follow the laws and regulation set forth before them.Ethics as a form of intellectual inquiry does not provide answers to moral questions. People with beliefs about right and wrong do. Societies are built upon those beliefs. As we have analyzed the ethical treatment of prisoners with theories of ethics we can argue that societys views of right and wrong coincide with reality, are representative of the intent moral order, and encompass the will of the people with regards to their treatment. Davenport, A. U. (2009). Basic criminal law the constitution, procedure, and crimes (2nd Ed. ). Upper Saddle River Pearson