Prison officials are trying to fight back at the leaders, yet there is no good progress. The prison was made to keep the gang members and leaders from continuing such activity of the violence of crime on the streets along with putting some type of scare in them, but the gang members and leaders come to the Pelican Bay State Prison to master their skills. This Pelican Bay State Prison is basically a true war zone, with there being violence in every part of the prison along with leaders making orders for outside
‘They became guards and prisoners.’ So disturbing was the transformation that Zimbardo ordered the experiment abruptly ended,” (Alexander, 2001). The way someone can change depending on what position they are put in is astounding, especially in the amount of time that this experiment. According to Zimbardo, in a matter of days the guards were already harassing and trying to break the wills of the prisoners (Alexander, 2001), and the prisoners were barricading themselves within their cells (Zimbardo, 2012). One might argue that the guards and prisoners were just role playing to fit the scenario, but you cannot deny the fact that many of the student participants had symptoms of a mental breakdown (Alexander, 2001). While none of the participants suffered long term harm, the standards for using human subjects in research would not authorize an experiment such as this one (Alexander, 2001).
They were forced to live in intolerable conditions, and tortured mentally and physically by the “guards”. The “guards”, on the other hand, were given uniforms and were instructed to maintain “law and order” in the prison. They were not given strict guidelines as how to keep the peace, and were even encouraged to strategize on their own how to handle situations with the “prisoners”. As time went on, otherwise unassertive subjects that were placed in the “guard” position became more and more aggressive. Prior to the experiment a “guard”, Guard A, wrote in his diary “As I am a pacifist and nonaggressive individual.
Battalion, was assigned to staff the prison and was charged with the upkeep of the facility and its inmates. Within the unit, a select few soldiers displayed extremely unethical and disgraceful actions toward Arab inmates, without any repercussions from the superior officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Phillabaum (Hersh, 12). Some of the horrific incidents performed on the prisoners included; breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees, threatening male detainees with rape, as well having the prisoners perform homosexual acts on one another and photographing the incidences (Hersh, 13). Homosexual acts are frowned upon in many cultures, but is completely against Islamic law. Having those Arab detainees perform those gruesome and degrading actions is entirely unethical.
After the experiment Zimbardo thoroughly analyzed what had happened. He found that even when good people are placed in an evil and negative environment; the people essentially are consumed by the evil. All of the test subjects, both guards and prisoners, became mentally confined by their roles in the experiment. When the students
Surprisingly, the participants truly embodied their roles. Throughout the experiment, the prison guards enforced their authoritarian power and tormented the prisoners both mentally and physically. Despite being the conductor of the experiment, Zimbardo also played a role as the superintendent of the prison. The Stanford Prison Experiment was significant due to its controversial nature and continued discussion in the classroom. The experiment itself was a form of field research.
Ethical issue is an important concern when researchers conduct an experiment. Ethics are used to ensure the safety of subjects and to establish a clear boundary of the research. During the research of Stanford Prison Experiment, the experiment violated many ethical issues. First of all, the participants especially the prisoners, were under a great deal of emotional stresses and physical harm because the guards demanded more obedience from the prisoners. Second, the participants were deceived.
This false impression is what the general public views as, life behind bars. In the criminal justice system, prison plays a vital role in deterring citizens from committing offences. The images held by the general public, due to the media’s account of the prison system, are enough to prevent most people from committing crimes. This representation in movies and television programs is often false and misleading, portraying the prison system as a dangerous place where criminals are sent to pay for their crimes. Criminals are constantly shown living in fear of other inmates or working tirelessly on roads or laundry mats.
Those who would disagree with the idea that the panopticon is an ethical form of punishment would argue that it is wrong to leave the prisoners alone. They would have a problem with the permanent solitary confinement. They would argue that the prisoners should be allowed to leave the cell every now and then. They would have a problem with the fact that the prisoners have no privacy because of the constant visibility. They would not like the fact that the prisoners are not allowed to socialize with anyone else because they do not have a chance to make any friends or even help pass the time by just hanging out with someone who is also in their position.
While the first procedure was completed, the security officers at the kitchen, failed to pat the prisoners down again before entering. While it seems unlikely that the weapons were on the bodies of the two prisoners when they exited their cells, and therefore, missed by the security officer when searched the first time, it was a possibility. If the weapons were found by the first security officer that searched the two prisoners, then without questions the two inmates would not have succeeded in taking over the prison. After the investigation in to the invents of that day, it was determined that the officers conducted rushed and insufficient pat-downs on both Steven Coy and Ricky Wassenaar that day, as well as the other members of the kitchen crew. This lack luster effort left all the prisoners in the kitchen working as well as the prison staff members vulnerable to harm, dismemberment, and death.