Discuss and explain the ethical issues that arose during the Stanford prison experiment. What implications did this experiment have on future issues and discussions of correctional work?

What will be an ideal response?


In this 1971 experiment, volunteer students, with no training as officers and only their own expectations and beliefs to guide them, were divided into officers and inmates in a makeshift “prison.” The “officers” were outfitted in uniforms, including reflective sunglasses, and given nightsticks. The “inmates” were given sack-like attire. Neither “officers” nor “inmates” were told of any rules or policies to guide or restrict their behavior. Predictably, a few of these “officers” or “guards” engaged in verbal and psychological abuse of the “inmates.” In the end, about a third of the “officers” engaged in the abuse, and others stood by while it was going on. The experiment was stopped after a few days and is often referenced as an example of how correctional work, and the subcultures that develop as part of the job, can foster corrupt behavior by officers. The problem with the experiment, however, was that the “officers” were never given any education or training in corrections work. They were directed to exercise their discretion in controlling the inmates, but it was a discretion that was not necessarily anchored to any history or knowledge of “best practices” in corrections. Rather, the “choices” made by the officers in the absence of any education and training were likely shaped by the movies and popular press depictions of corrections that tended to reinforce the stereotypes of the institutions/programs and work. Not knowing how best to get people to do what they otherwise wouldn’t the “guards” used what knowledge of corrections they had, even if it was all wrong.

Criminal Justice

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In the wake of Furman, states revised their death-penalty laws and procedures to reduce _____ in the application of the penalty

Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).

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The basic idea behind the due process approach to confessions is that confessions have to be:

a. true. b. intelligent. c. rational. d. voluntary.

Criminal Justice

Deception encompasses spoken and written statements but not physical expressions

Indicate whether the statement is true or false.

Criminal Justice

The classic father confessor approach to interrogations involves:

a. physical force in the form of beatings to get a confession. b. a sympathetic figure for the defendant to confide to. c. one nice officer and a seemingly brutal, threatening officer. d. one nice officer and a seemingly uncaring, withdrawn officer.

Criminal Justice