Ethical Considerations of a Homicide and Burglary - Essay Example

Crucial information should be kept secret so that the decision-making and thought process of the criminal investigation is not influenced (Swanson, 1999).
To avoid influencing the homicide and burglary crime investigation process, it is important to eliminate the problems of personal beliefs and investigation bias. This can be achieved when the investigator conducts proper research that helps in getting some careful evidence that isolates and identifies the targeted criminal. This helps in avoiding investigation errors such as false accusations and jail sentences for the wrong people. Besides, keep away the people who are not part of the criminal investigation process so that crucial information is not leaked to the criminals. This facilitates a quick apprehension of criminals. Witnesses must be questioned properly to gather adequate information about the homicide and burglary crimes committed. Importantly, the investigator should not lead the suspects to his/her ideas, and the prosecution evidence not be damaged or tampered with. Besides, it is important to tell the defendant his/her legal rights and be allowed to hire a legal counsel to represent him/her in the criminal case (Territo, Swanson & Taylor, 2011).

Indeed, if the prosecutor was unethical, several prosecution problems are likely to occur when the case is presented for trial. Eagerness can make a prosecutor commit some legal errors during the litigation and cross-examination stages of the crime. The prosecutor can get evidence that suits his/her interest. For instance, evidence on a person who has either committed homicide or burglary can be altered in the favor of the suspect, even before he/she is declared innocent (Walker & Rolando, 2007). The evidence was tampered with affecting the court proceedings of the case greatly since this leads to the wrong delivery of judgment. There are even cases whereby the evidence of one person is used on another suspect so that a lighter judgment that leads to acquittal is delivered. For example, one who has committed homicide can be judged based on the evidence of another suspect who committed assault, which has a lesser penalty than the homicide case.
Just like other people who are involved in homicide and burglary criminal cases, the prosecutor has some ethical issues that are directly related to him/her. For instance, the prosecutor can be corrupt and moved by greed to obtain a lot of wealth illegally within a short time. This makes the prosecutor solicit bribes to favor a criminal in the case (Newburn, Williamson &Wright, 2007). At times, the prosecutor might be intending to run for a political re-appointment, and since he/she needs to secure the position during the re-election process, much effort is put to win the case since losing the case would make the prosecutor lose in the election. Therefore, the prosecutor will try hard to win the homicide and criminal cases. Read More