Michael C. Braswell -- Introduces

¶ … Michael C. Braswell -- introduces the subject of ethics, crime, and justice to the students and advises them on how to approach the study of the subject.

According to the author, ethics is a study of right and wrong, or good and evil. He explains that the idea of justice, crime, and ethics can be understood in a better way if we look at it in the context of three concentric circles. The innermost circle represents our personal worldview or sense of justice, which is shaped by our life experiences. The second circle is the social context of justice and it is important to consider the environment in which crimes are committed before making a judgment on their ethics or suggesting measures for crime-control. The third context for understanding justice is the criminal justice process. It sets the legal limits on what people living in a particular society can do to each other. The criminal justice system is supposed to reflect the personal and collective values of a community but, at times, it may conflict with our sense of morality.

Finally, the author has identified five specific goals that would help in exploring issues regarding justice, crime, and ethics. These goals are: to become more aware of ethical issues; to develop critical thinking and analytical skills; to become personally responsible; to understand coercion in the criminal justice system; and to develop wholesight.

Summary of Chapter 2:

The chapter, written by Jeffery Gold, emphasizes the importance of ethical issues in criminal justice, presents a study and comparison of two of the most influential theories of normative ethics -- utilitarianism and deontology, besides pointing out the major weaknesses of the two theories.

Utilitarianism, developed by British philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill in the 18th and 19th centuries, is a hedonistic ethical theory that judges the morality of an action by the consequences it produces. The theory states that the morally right action result in happiness and the morally wrong action produces unhappiness. Since a single action may give happiness to some and unhappiness to others, utilitarianism further holds that the morally correct action is the one that produces the "greatest good for the greatest number of people." Deontological ethics, on the other hand, emphasizes the performance of certain duties regardless of the consequences. The most famous deontologist, the 18th century German philosopher -- Immanuel Kant further holds that the key to morality is intention rather than consequences of action. Kant's theory also includes the idea that one should do only what one is willing to permit anyone else to do. Both theories (Utilitarianism and Deontology) have their weaknesses and the author suggests that combining the two would solve most of the ethical dilemmas of criminal justice.

Summary of Chapter 3: