Alternative Methods in Justice - Essay Example

Pharmaceutical companies were established to find remedies that can cure, prevent or alleviate the illnesses society encounters today. Inasmuch as they deal with human lives, they are expected to conduct business with the utmost regard for their customers’ safety and health. It therefore comes as a shock to society when these same companies and their top management are convicted because of improper practices related to drug manufacturing. The traditional method of punishment does not seem to hinder them from committing the same criminal acts. This essay will attempt to analyze why it is better for offenders such as pharmaceutical companies to be punished in a way other than incarceration and payment of fines. It will also suggest alternative methods of punishments for drug companies who willfully harm society. Moreover, it will attempt to explain why non-incarceration is a much better way in dealing with this kind of criminality. In February 2009, “U.S. District Judge Jack T. Camp fined Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals CEO Jared Wheat $50,000 and ordered him, the company and other individual defendants to forfeit $3 million in proceeds from selling knockoff prescription drugs over the internet.” (Rothman, C., 2009) Apparently they were producing generic versions of drugs similar to Viagra in their facility in Belize and selling them online without need for prescriptions. A jury also found former InterMune Inc. CEO W. Scott Harkonen guilty of health care fraud. (Levine, D., 2009) InterMune, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative therapies in pulmonology and hepatology. (Corporate Overview, n.d.) It seems “under Harkonen’s direction, InterMune marketed and sold Actimmune to treat IPF, a fatal disease, despite the fact that the drug was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a safe and effective treatment.” (Former Intermune, 2008) In 2005, “Patrick Lais, then CEO of York Pharmaceuticals Inc., was sentenced to federal prison for distributing substandard aspirin in 2000 and 2001.” (Kansas City… 2005) The common punishment for these two crimes had been huge fines and incarceration. Given the effect of these crimes to the lives of their consumers, CEOs of pharmaceutical companies who intentionally harm the public should receive other forms of punishment than monstrous fines and jail time. They are rich. They can pay the fines. If they behave nicely in jail, they may get a parole. Through all these, their customers are still suffering and may or may not recover from the effects of these crimes. In California, if your crime is not too serious, you can pay around $100 a day to stay in a considerably nice jail cell. (Elliot, S., 2007) This meant that incarceration is not really a threat to people who have money. If you are as rich as the CEOs mentioned in the previous paragraph, jail time will not be too bad. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, a court sent the Managing Director of Rid Pharmaceuticals Limited to jail for manufacturing toxic paracetamol syrup that claimed the lives of at least 28 children across the country. (Court Correspondent, 2009) Rid Pharma’s Mizanur Rahman was denied bail by the court. However, if the jail system in Dhaka is anything like in California, Mr. Rahman’s jail cell is expected to have better facilities. Indeed, other means should be found to make offenders such as Mr. Rahman who knowingly manufactures fatal drugs realize how unethical and immoral their actions are. The public entrust their health and lives to these businessmen. With a market as competitive as the pharmaceutical industry, a loyal public should be a strong reason for drug companies to find ways to further improve their products, save people and keep the loyalty of their buyers. As with doctors, these executives have a duty not only to their company but also a moral responsibility to the public. In an interview on why drug companies collapse, Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye, a pharmacist and the CEO of Juhel Nigeria Limited had this to say about drug production - once you have not produced to the standard that is required, what you are producing is poison. (Nnadi, C., 2008) CEOs of pharmaceutical companies who manufacture lethal drugs should be punished by other means than imprisonment or large fines as they are knowingly creating poison for public consumption. There are a couple of suggested methods in lieu of incarceration. The CEOs could be exiled to countries where tribes or indigenous people can benefit from the CEOs’ pharmaceutical backgrounds instead of sending the CEOs to jail. People from countries such as Guatemala, Burma and Thailand still lack proper medical care. These CEOs can find ways to produce the medicines needed by the people in these countries. In addition, CEOs who have a background in medicine like InterMune’s Dr. Scott can practice their profession by giving free treatment. Exposure to people who don’t have any access to medicines & just hopelessly die as a result of such circumstance is a much better wake-up call than the four walls of a jail cell. Since reflection on one’s crime is an ideal consequence of spending time in jail, then actually witnessing how the deed can greatly affect another human being positively should result in a more meaningful reflection. Instead of making these CEOs pay huge fines, the money can be used in the rehabilitation of those people victimized by their fake medicines. In addition, the money can be used to purchase the proper medicines the victims should have been taking in the first place. Health care is expensive enough as it is. Purchasing the right medicine after being mislead into buying the wrong ones is both impractical and inefficient especially when the medication is vital to the patient’s survival. Getting the proper medication for free from the same people who caused the problem would be fitting and just. Where victims of these lethal drugs have expired, then the money would truly be a great help to the family in paying off the medical expenses they had incurred. A CEO may claim they are not directly responsible for making these lethal drugs as he only provides the funding to the scientists. It is true that although “scientists do not as a rule have control over either research results or their application, or even in many cases over the planning of their work,” (Code of Ethics for Scientists, 1984) this should not deter them in honestly judging the possible consequences of their research. They are also expected to share these judgments & to cease the research if the same violates ethics. In spite of this, scientists are legally bound to perform the instructions of their employer. In this case, the employers are CEOs who want to produce lethal drugs. Thus, the CEO cannot lay the blame entirely on the scientists. Since the CEO is “in charge of the day-to-day administration of the [Company’s] business” (Clavis Pharma, 2006), he is also expected to know every detail of his company’s product, from conception to distribution. It is the CEO’s responsibility to ensure the well-being of the company and its employees. It is therefore assumed that the CEO will not let any harm come to the company arising from any illegal act committed by himself or his colleagues. “Widespread disenchantment with the traditionally accepted justifications for, and the modes of criminal punishment during the 1990s has led to towards a similarly universal search for alternative methods of dealing with criminal offenders within a broader social context than that of mere incarceration or the existing range of non-custodial alternatives.” (Cornwell, et al. 2006) Justice systems around the world have been trying to use alternative methods to address both civil and criminal liabilities. Throughout history, American Indian cultures handled criminal matter in widely diverse ways and, of course, did not practice Anglo-American style incarceration. (Miller, R., 2009) Some countries are using alternative dispute resolutions (ADR) which “are extra-judicial procedures which are now used for resolving civil or commercial disputes.” (Settling Out, n.d.) In Canada, the judiciary has already started advocating restorative justice as a response to criminal acts. “Restorative justice programs involve the voluntary participation of the victim of the crime and the offender, and ideally members of the community, in discussions” (Restorative Justice, 2009) where the offender acknowledges his mistake and apologizes to the victim & the community. Singapore, a country known for its low crime rate, uses public caning as a form of punishment for law-breakers. In the Czech Republic, the feature of a new law for both age groups of juvenile offenders “is the emphasis put specially on restorative approaches and alternative methods.” (Valkova, H., 2006) In the U.S.A., “these lawbreakers have been ordered to take out ads in their local paper apologizing for their crimes, march downtown with sandwich boards proclaiming their misdeeds, have their names printed in huge type on billboards about the cities highways, perform their community hours with a fluorescent orange vest with a neon yellow band and black bold letters on the front and back that read: probationer at work, or post signs on their front lawns warning passersby of their violent or deviant nature.” (Burkmar, R., 1997) Alternative methods in justice can be helpful. For one, it can help the government decrease spending and taxpayers’ pay less. According to federal statistics, keeping a man behind bars in New York cost taxpayers $36,835 a year in 2006. (Louis, E., 2009) Given that criminal justice expenditures account for a substantial portion of public spending, any increased efficiency regarding sanction methods will result in significant savings. (Cherry, T., 2001) Secondly, alternative methods can be a more effective way than incarceration to impose punishment yet respect a person’s human rights. The belief that traditional punitive methods of responding to a criminal act do not decrease recidivism is coupled with the perspective that the victims of crime are ignored and/or re-injured in the process. (Wormer, K. and Besthorn, F., 2004) The Southern Ute Tribe in America “allows offenders to write letter of apology, participate in work or fitness programs, and sit in sweat lodges as punishment for their crimes.” (Miller, R., 2009) This is a more humane way of dealing with offenders than locking them behind bars. Lastly, these methods can possibly curb the injustice caused by the rich populace who still use their wealth to buy their way out of incarceration or to get some sort of special attention during imprisonment. As mentioned in the initial part of this essay, CEOs may find it easy to manipulate the penal system to their own advantage. “As drug makers repeatedly plead guilty, they’ve shown they’re willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines as a cost of generating billions in revenue.” (Evans, D., 2009) Moreover, putting them in jail does not guarantee that their accomplices on the outside have ceased endangering the public as well. “Crime is a product of many factors, including individual, family and community issues.” (Mauer, M., 1994) Effective alternative methods of justice can be achieved if only society understands how complex these factors are. Imprisonment will only isolate the offender from his family and the community. Moreover, these unconventional modes for punishment, if applied to juveniles, may not result to psychological or emotional harm that incarceration may otherwise bring. Studies have also shown that the recividism rate of juveniles who undergo restorative justice is lesser than those who are punished the traditional way. In the case of wealthy offenders such as CEOs of pharmaceutical companies, the fines do not even make a debt to their companies’ revenue. Their incarceration seldom deters their minions from committing the criminal act. As of this writing, alternative methods of justice appear to be the best solution in dealing with criminality. Justice systems should continue to discover other ways of punishment in which the offender manages the consequences of his actions productively and for the betterment of himself and society. Bibliography Burkmar, R. (1997). Rehabilitation instead of Incarceration. Vancouver, CA: Vancouver Island University-Criminology Department. Retrieved November 16, 2009 from http://web.viu.ca/crim/student_papers.htm Cherry, T. (2001). Financial penalties as an alternative criminal sanction: Evidence from panel data. Atlantic Economic Journal. (p. 1) Retrieved on November 10, 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6413/is_4_29/ai_n28889436/?tag=content;col1 Clavis Pharma ASA Instructions to the Board of Directors. (2006). (Pdf file) Retrieved on November 12, 2009 from http://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&ved=0CA0QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clavispharma.com%2Fbinary%2F147%2Ffile%3Fdownload%3Dtrue&rct=j&q=pharma+ceo+duties&ei=sCD8SrKuCYfo6gOf1_2TAg&usg=AFQjCNFHPpZcDtQ2YA5pZZRrjnRKlWJscw Gustafsson, B., et. al. (1984). Focus on: The Uppsala Code of Ethics for Scientists. Journal of Peace Research. 21 (4). Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://user.it.uu.se/~pugwash/Etik/uppsalakodex Cornwell, D., et al. (2006). Criminal Punishment and Restorative Justice: Past, Present and Future Perspectives. (p. xiii) United Kingdom: Waterside Press Corporate Overview. (n.d.) www.intermune.com. Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://www.intermune.com/wt/itmn/corp Court Correspondent. (2009) Rid Pharma boss lands in jail. The Daily Star. Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=110545 Elliot, S. (2007). Rich People Behaving Badly. The Huffington Post. Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-elliott/rich-people-behaving-badl_b_47185.html Ex-York Pharmaceuticals CEO gets one-year sentence. (2005). Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved on November 12, 2009 on http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2005/08/15/daily26.html Evans, D. (2009). Pfizer Broke the Law by Promoting Drugs for Unapproved Uses. Bloomberg.com Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a4yV1nYxCGoA&pos=10 Former Intermune CEO W. Scott Harkonen Indicted for Wire Fraud and FDA Violations. (2008) www.usdoj.gov. Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/March/08_civ_217.html Levine, D. (2009). Biotech CEO Guilty of Wire Fraud. www.law.com. Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202434191456&rss=newswire Louis, E. (2009) An Idea as Rich as Rockefeller: Shift from money from incarceration to rehabilitation. NYDailyNews.com Retrieved on November 15, 2009 from http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/01/08/2009-01-08_an_idea_as_rich_as_rockefeller_shift_fro.html Mauer, M., (1994). Americans Behind Bars: The International Use of Incarceration, 1992-1993. Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project. Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/other/sp/abb.htm Miller, R. (2009). Tribes explore alternative criminal justice methods. Native America, Discovered and Conquered. Retrieved on November 15, 2009 from http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/?p=2453 Nnadi, C., (2008). Why most pharmaceutical companies collapse. Daily Sun. Retrieved on November 12, 2009 from http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/ceomagazine/2008/jan/14/ceomagazine-14-01-2008-001.htm Restorative Justice. (2009) Retrieved on November 10, 2009 from http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/pcvi-cpcv/res-rep.html Rothman, C. (2009). Jared Wheat CEO of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals was sentences to 50 months in jail for selling knockoff prescription drugs over the internet. Retrieved on November 11, 2009 from http://theoriginalgreenwichdiva.com/?p=2470 Settling out of court – developing alternative methods to resolve civil and commercial disputes in the European Union. (n.d.) Retrieved on November 10, 2009 from http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/civil/dispute/fsj_civil_dispute_en.htm Valkova, H. (2006). Restorative Approaches and Alternative Methods: Juvenile Justice Reform in the Czech Republic. International Handbook of Juvenile Justice. (377-396). N.ew York: Springer-Verlag New York, LLC Wormer, K. and Besthorn, F. (2004) Restoring Justice: An Alternative Approach to Fairness, Equity, and Equality – An Introduction. Journal of Societal & Social Policy, 3/2: 1-2, 1-78. Read More