Ethical Treatment of Prisoners - Research Paper Example

?[Your full full January 17, Ethical Treatment of Prisoners Before going into the discussion regarding how inmates have been lead to suicide or more crimes because of the treatment that they receive from the correctional officers, let us get to know what correctional officers actually are. “A correctional officer is someone who supervises prisoners and people awaiting trial in a correctional facility such as a jail or prison” (Smith). Correctional officers are government employees and they are mainly concerned with supervision and care of the people who are held in prisons. Correctional officers have no powers related to enforcement of law but they are law representatives inside the prison facility. Smith states, “In the prison, correctional officers monitor prisoner behavior, maintain order, delegate jobs or responsibilities for prisoners, and supervise transportation for prisoners who are moved to other locations”. They not only take care of the individual who have been sent to the jails by the courts but also they look after those individuals who have been waiting for the trials in the prisons. Therefore, we can say that the role of correctional officers inside the prison facility is of critical importance. Along with the importance of correctional officers in prisons and jails, there also exists a negative viewpoint regarding the treatment provided by the correctional officers to the inmates. The benefits that the inmates receive from the state such as health care, prenatal care, mental health care, free housing, free food, and free education are viewed somewhat unethical in the today’s world. Some of these benefits even do not apply to the people living in the non-correctional settings. There are some reasons why these benefits are considered unethical or unjustified. Let us first discuss how inmates have been lead to suicide or more crime because of the treatment that they receive from the correctional officers and then we will discuss some of those reasons, which make the state benefits provided to the inmates unethical and unjustified. Reasons for Increased Suicides and Crimes among Inmates There are many reasons, which act as the root cause for the increased level of suicides and crimes among the criminals. Let us discuss some of those reasons in some detail: Behavior of Correctional Officers One of the major reasons behind increased rate of crimes and suicides among the inmates has been the behavior of some of the correctional officers. Some officers do not treat the prisoners politely, which injects the sense of revenge in the minds of the criminals. Inmates expect good behavior from the correctional officers but when they do not get what they expect from the officers, they become more aggressive and violent. The harsh and unkind treatment of some of the correctional officers also plays an important role in creating negative feelings in the minds of the inmates. It is the nature of any criminal to show the feelings of aggression if he or she is mistreated either by other prisoners or by correctional officers. Therefore, it is very important for the correctional officers to control the behaviors and actions of the criminals in an appropriate way in order to control crime rate in the country. Role of State Benefits in Increased Crimes The benefits, which are provided by the state to the inmates, also play a considerable role in increasing the number of crimes and suicides among the inmates. Those benefits are provided to the inmates only in the correctional settings. The benefits such as free housing and free education are not provided to the criminals in the non-correctional facilities, so when the inmates come out of the prisons, their free education facility ends up which creates frustration among the inmates. Some of the inmates want to continue with the free education and free housing facilities even after the punishments ends and when they do not find a proper opportunity to get those benefits in the non-correctional settings, negative thoughts appear in their minds, which make them commit more crimes in order to get the facilities again. Reasons for why State Benefits are Considered Unethical There are many reasons, which make the benefits provided by the state to the criminals unethical and unjustified. Let us discuss some of those reasons in some detail in order to get a better understanding of the issue: Sense of Irresponsibility One of the biggest concerns related to the benefits that are provided by the state to the inmates is the sense of irresponsibility, which emerges in the minds of criminals. When benefits such as free housing, free food, and free health care, are provided to the criminals, they start feeling relaxed and comfortable in the facilitated environment, which makes them commit crimes in order to get those facilities. As far as I think, these types of facilities promote crimes because criminals get such facilities, which are even not provided to them in non-correctional settings. I would not say that free housing, mental health care, free education, or free food always play a considerable role in promoting crimes, however, they do promote them up to some extent. These kinds of facilities make the criminals more negligent and careless instead of making them responsible towards their social and personal responsibilities. Facilities not Available in Non-Correctional Settings Another ethical issue is that some of the facilities are not available to the people living in the non-correctional settings. Free food and free housing are those facilities, which are not provided to the people who are not involved in any sort of crime. Such people have to struggle a lot in order to get proper housing and food, whereas inmates are provided with free housing and food facilities, which make the criminals feel more comfortable in the world of crimes. I personally think that there should be a criteria or a proper mechanism through which the benefits should be provided to the inmates. Moreover, the inmates should be observed constantly by the correctional officers in order to know how inmates behave when they are provided with different facilities. My Viewpoint Regarding the Issue My point of view related to the issue of increased rate of crimes is that the correctional officers should control the behaviors and actions of the criminals in an appropriate way in order to control crime rate in the country. I think that controlling the behaviors and changing them in a positive direction can help the inmates leave all sorts of crimes and live a peaceful life. Role of Virtue Ethics Theory in Solving the Problem Virtue Ethics theory can be very helpful in solving the problem of increased crime rate because it focuses on helping the individual develop good and acceptable personality traits instead of focusing on the actions of the individuals. Cline asserts, “Virtue-based ethical theories place less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits, such as kindness and generosity”. Utilitarianism and Deontology theories focus more on the actions, which a person performs in different circumstances whereas Virtue Ethics theory helps in making such character traits, which make a person take appropriate decisions regarding different matters of life. In this paper, we are discussing the issue of increased level of crimes and suicides due to the treatment provided by the correctional officers to the inmates. Considering the nature of the issue, I think Virtue Ethics theory can play a critical role in solving the problem by making the correctional officers assist the inmates in changing their negative behaviors and bad habits such as anger, aggressive moods, and greed. “People can develop virtues over time, and so in theory, grow into a better person” (Weineck). Therefore, we can say that Virtue Ethics theory can be very helpful because it emphasizes on the development of good behaviors, which makes the inmates leave all sorts of crimes. Ethical Egoism Ethical Egoism brings a different perspective regarding the issue. According to this theory, the individuals are motivated by their own desires. Moreover, a person cannot influence the actions of any other individual. Ethical Egoism focuses on the importance of self-decision for a person because every person is motivated by some factors of personal interest. Virtue Ethics theory focuses more on importance of good behaviors whereas Ethical Egoism theory is concerned with the importance of one’s own actions based on self-decisions. The viewpoint of Ethical Egoism theory is that the actions of an individual are influenced by the factors of self-interest and the motivation behind those decisions occur due to own interest without any regard for any other person’s interest. Which Viewpoint is closer to mine? Analyzing the viewpoints of Virtue Ethics theory and Ethical Egoism theory, I conclude that the viewpoint of Virtue Ethics theory is closer to my viewpoint regarding the issue. It is because Virtue Ethics theory focuses on the improvement of behaviors and development of good behaviors by emphasizing the central role played by motives in moral questions. Therefore, we can say that the Virtue Ethics theory can play a considerable role in helping the inmates change their way of thinking and play a positive role in decreasing the crime rate in the country. Works Cited Cline, Austin. “What Are Virtue Ethics?.” About.com, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. . Smith, Syre. “What is Correctional Officer?.” Wisegeek.com, 26 Sep. 2010. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. . Weinneck, Allen. “Virtue theory: The ethics of personal development.” Helium.com, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. . Read More