Ethics in Criminal Procedure

Ethics in Criminal Procedure

Introduction

Ethics, also identified by the name of moral philosophy, is that subdivision of philosophy which is concerned with the study of right and wrong and how one must live. So ethics predominantly involves making moral judgments and decisions that are related to what is wrong and what is right or good or bad. The moral philosophy literature says that right or wrong are the two qualities or moral conclusion that one assigns to a conduct or action. Ethics is then further divided in to three branches: metaethics which deals with the reasoning, logical structure, language and methods that are used in interpreting the ethical terms, like what exactly does the term 'good' mean. Next in normative ethics, it is concerned with the standards of conduct and the various ways of behaving. Last is the applied ethics which is concerned with the solution to practical moral issues as they arise like in the professions of law and medicine.

Therefore ethics is a way for human beings to make moral choices when they are not certain in a situation about what to do that involves making moral decisions. In the affairs of everyday life moral and ethical rules are necessary and desirable because they are valid and can be relied upon as guides for normal conduct and situations and not as absolute truth (Singer, 1995, p.175).

Discussion

Ethics in Criminal Procedure

In the criminal justice system ethics is defined as those management decisions and policies that relate to giving punishments to the offenders and the rationale for arriving at such decisions like to rehabilitate, leave, impose or deter. Example will include such management and policy problem situations where an ethical decision is to be made to force someone or not to attend a treatment or correction program against their will. Another example may be that the assigned system of punishment which is based on rehabilitation would it be ethical to send the offender to prison or should treatments and correction programs be offered to that offender to assist in behavior change to regain freedom (Banks, 2004, p.4).

Another aspect of ethics in criminal procedure would be the professionals in the criminal justice system and their authority and power and in some cases the authorization to use physical coercion and force against the offenders. The accepted standards of behavior and the law impose ethical responsibilities and rules on these professionals. The ...