Posted: August 1st, 2023

Decision making in criminal justice

Decision making in criminal justice
There are basically 2 points of view on mistakes in the criminal justice system: That no mistakes are acceptable, and that mistakes are inevitable. With that in mind, answer the following question: Is it better for 10,000 guilty men to walk free than to have one innocent man convicted? If not, what number, if any, is acceptable to you?

Use any framework we have discussed in class (e.g. deontological, utilitarianism, etc.) to in your opinion. Use examples to illustrate your answer: This is an ESSAY question, and should be written as such.

Decision making in criminal justice
Decision making in criminal justice aspects ensures that decisions are made to achieve the highest levels of justice, equity, and equality, and thus sufficient laws, theories, and regulations must be incorporated in decision making. The decisions made in the criminal justice system need to ensure that law and order in the society and matters are decided for the common good. The guilty persons need to be effectively handled by the criminal justice system to ensure that law and order are maintained in the society in the interest of the majority of the law-abiding citizens (Clair and Winter, 2016). In this case, the proposition that it would be better for 10,000 guilty men to walk free than to have one innocent man convicted is wrong and unacceptable. In this case, only the persons found guilty need to be convicted while those found innocent should be set free. The 10,000 guilty men should, therefore, be jailed while the innocent man should be let free. The decision making in the criminal justice system can be made based on ethical and moral theories such as deontological theories for the common good.
The deontological theory needs to be incorporated into criminal justice to determine whether things are right or wrong. Deontological theory ensures that the determination on whether things are right or wrong based on the rightness or wrongness of the actions themselves (Lee, 2010). In deontological ethical theory, the morality of an action is based on whether the action is right or wrong in comparison to set rules, policies, and laws as opposed to the consequences of an action. In this case, the action of letting free 10,000 guilty men in the place of jailing one innocent man is wrong by all standards and laws. The action of letting free 10,000 guilty men is wrong based on the laws prescribed under different constitutions or policies. Under the law, the persons found in contravention of the law are guilty, and they should be jailed or fined appropriately. On the other hand, the persons found innocent should be let free. Therefore, it would be wrong to jail one innocent person at the expense of 10,000 guilty people.
Setting free 10,000 guilty persons will achieve the greatest joy as in the case of the utilitarianism ethical theory. The utilitarianism ethical theory evaluates the rightness or wrongness based on the outcome as opposed to the action itself (Gao and Tang, 2013). The fact that the criminal justice system decisions are guided by the laws, then the decisions made should be based on the deontological ethical theory since it evaluates the actions themselves as opposed to the outcome. If the actions are inconsistent with the law, then the action is wrong, and it is in contravention of the law. On the other hand, if the actions are aligned to the constitution, then the actions are right, and they are not in violation of any law. The fact that the 10,000 men are guilty means that their original actions are in contravention of the law and that their action is wrong. The innocent man’s action is right and in line with the law.
In conclusion, the decisions on whether an action is right or wrong are not dependent on the number of people it affects but on whether the action is inline or contravention with the law. The actions themselves are evaluated to determine whether they are right or wrong based on the laws, policies, and regulations. Therefore, the proposition that the 10,000 guilty people should be let free while jailing one innocent man is wrong.

References
Clair, M., & Winter, A. S. (2016). How judges think about racial disparities: Situational decision‐making in the criminal justice system. Criminology, 54(2), 332-359.
Gao, Y., & Tang, S. (2013). Psychopathic personality and utilitarian moral judgment in college students. Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(5), 342-349.
Lee, Y. (2010). Deontology, political morality, and the state. Ohio St. J. Crim. L., 8, 385.

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