Ethical Treatment of Prisoners

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Ethical Treatment of Prisoners Karen Eugene Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility SOC120 John Meeks July 14, 2012 People should be treated with respected no matter where they live or where they are staying at. Some people feel that people who are incarcerated, do not deserve to be treated the same as people that have not committed a crime in their lifetime. Everyone makes mistakes in their life, some are worse than others, but everyone still deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter where they are at and no matter what they have done in their past. Utilitarianism is the belief that moral rules should be choices made by a society to promote the happiness of its members (Mosser, 2010). Utilitarianism has a foundation for decision making, whether it is moral or ethical. There are some problems with this method of decision making. Some people might not agree that everyone deserves to be happy no matter where they are at. For hundreds of years prisoner had no rights and since then our society’s ethical values have changed. Back in the day it was basically stated an eye for an eye, and now society views this differently, basically our values have evolved. A sentence may, however, combine utilitarian ideals with retribution. For example, a defendant sentenced to prison for several years is sent there to quench the public's thirst for vengeance. At the same time, educational programs inside the prison reflect the utilitarian goal of rehabilitation.(JRank) Here is a brief description of things found in a prison. Each cell has its own toilet and sink. The inmates are allowed to leave their cells for work assignments and certain types of programs. Inmates who do not have anywhere to go may enter the common areas and outside to exercise in the yard. Inmates are allowed to make phone calls and have visits. Some prisons have computers for the

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