NCJ Number
130051
Journal
Federal Prisons Journal Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1991) Pages: 38-44
Date Published
1991
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Like other chief executive officers, the Federal prison warden is responsible for making ethical decisions and judgments about policies, programs, procedures, and problems concerning a wide variety of issues.
Abstract
Moral decisions and judgments in prison administration are justified in essentially the same way they are in other areas of applied ethics. A model of moral reasoning is presented that considers possible influences on decisionmaking. The model has six stages: concept of a subordinate, theory of punishment, universal ethical principles, code of the profession, particular case, and moral judgment. Like moral retributivism, legal retributivism says that the sole justification for punishing individuals is the fact that they have actually committed a crime. The subordinate can be viewed as an object, an animal, a devil, or a person. In the view of the subordinate as a person, the subordinate is seen as a human being with feelings, needs, and hopes; one who can think, make choices, and improve. If prison wardens understand the model of moral reasoning presented in the article and the relation between theories of punishment and concepts of a subordinate, they may enhance their ability to think through ethical aspects of decisions and judgments. The six stages of the moral reasoning model are detailed. 3 tables