Prologue:
Due to Badpenny’s financial situation, she is unable to post bail
because her bond is set too high. The charges Badpenny faces include
possession of methamphetamine (felony), possession of drug paraphernalia
(misdemeanor), and official misconduct – using her position as a
dispatcher to access confidential information for personal gain
(misdemeanor).
While Badpenny sits in jail awaiting the disposition of her case, many
of the jailers treat her with indifference. When Badpenny requests to
use the phone, take a shower, or get commissary, the jailers disregard
her request. Badpenny noticed that the jailers did not treat the other
prisoners as poorly; she has worked with most of these jailers and
cannot believe the jailers would mistreat her.
Badpenny has no one to talk to except her cellmate, Heather Scandell,
whose current arrest was for possession of cocaine and methamphetamines
with intent to sell. Badpenny and Scandell have been in jail for weeks
together in the same cell sharing life experiences and hopes for their
future.
Everyday Scandell tries to get Badpenny to discuss her case, but
Badpenny remains guarded; she will not discuss her criminal case with
anyone but her attorney, Liddy Gate. One day, after getting back from
the law library, Scandell’s cot was empty, Badpenny asked the jailer
where she went, the jailer told Badpenny not to worry about the other
inmates. Later that day, a jailer came to inform Badpenny that her
attorney wants to talk with her, the jailer escorted Badpenny to the
visitation room.
Liddy Gate told Badpenny to sit down she had some troubling news about
her case. Once Badpenny sat down, Liddy informed Badpenny that Heather
Scandell, her cellmate has become a jailhouse informant for the
prosecution against her. Liddy said, “Scandell is going to get a
reduced sentence in exchange for testifying against you. Scandell spoke
with the prosecuting attorney and explained how you got the
confidential information from county and city where you where worked,
and then gave it to Dreadford in exchange for methamphetamines.”
Badpenny told Liddy that none of what Scandell says is true; she has not
talked to anyone about her case. Badpenny asked Liddy, “Why is this
happening to me?”
Liddy told Badpenny, “I will do what I can to minimize the damage
Scandell may cause. I will see if we can get a plea deal instead of
going to trial.”
Assignment:
This week, use the information from chapters 10 and 11 to complete a 2
to 3 – page paper, discussing the implications of prosecutors using
jailhouse informants and the problems with wrongful convictions. Also,
explain how the occupational subculture in corrections plays a role in
how correctional officers treat or mistreat prisoners.
*Identify an ethical system that relates to the way correctional officers are treating Badpenny.
Source: Pollock, J.M. (2019). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice (10th Ed.). Cengage Learning.
Jailhouse Informants
The selected case scenario involves the use of jailhouse informants during prosecution, treatment of inmates, and occupational subcultures in the correctional facility. Notably, Badpenny perceives unequal treatment relative to other inmates in the correctional facility, whereby she is denied access to the use of phone, shower, and commissary. Furthermore, Badpenny faces a significant issue in her case as the prosecution intends to use her cellmate as a jailhouse informant for the trial. An analysis of this case scenario and the officers’ treatment towards Badpenny suggests the former uses a utilitarianism ethical system. While this ethical system is acceptable in correctional facilities, there are concerns over the occupational subcultures in the corrections which shape the relational behavior amongst officers and between officers and inmates, and the use of jailhouse informants, which is likely to create an incentive to lie and lead to wrongful convictions.
While jailhouse informants are sometimes relied upon to strengthen a case, using this secondary source of confession can create an incentive to lie and lead to wrongful convictions. As noted by Neuschatz et al. (2007), information from cooperating informants is often provided in exchange for a plea bargain of some form of incentive, which makes it conducive for the evidence fabrication on the part of the informant. This aspect is notably evidenced in the case scenario whereby Scandell, the informant, is offered an incentive of a reduced sentence in exchange for a testimony against Badpenny. Arguably, this incentive could account for the fabricated evidence Scandell provided against Badpenny despite the latter being discrete about her case. Synthesis of information from the case scenario and existing literature suggests that the use of jailhouse informants by prosecutions can lead to the fabrication of evidence and wrongful convictions.
Furthermore, an analysis of the case scenario reveals that occupational subculture in corrections plays a role in the manner in which officers treat or mistreat prisoners by shaping the relational behavior amongst officers and between officers and inmates. As Pollock (2019) noted, like law enforcement, the corrections field has occupational cultures that, in some ways, are contrary to the ethical codes. The occupational subculture in each correction determines the relationship among officers and their behavior towards inmates. For example, the literature reveals that among the correctional officers’ subculture norms is “to maintain officer solidarity against all outside groups” (Pollock, 2019). When this subculture comes into play, it shapes the manner in which officers treat or mistreat prisoners. Arguably, officers may mistreat prisoners if they perceive prisoners as outsiders and enemies. Conversely, if the occupational subculture is based on ethics, the officers may treat the prisoners respectfully. Therefore, occupational culture is a critical factor that shapes the interrelationship among officers and their behavior towards the inmates.
Besides the occupational subcultures, there are also ethical systems that govern the manner in which officers treat prisoners. In this context, the most applicable ethical system is utilitarianism, which states that punishing or treating the criminal offender benefits society, and the benefits tend to outweigh the negative effect on the individual offender (Pollock, 2019). In this scenario, the correctional officers likely assume that punishing Badpenny for her mistakes has multiple benefits to society than the negative effect that such punishment has on the individual. Arguably, the officers likely view the indifferent treatment as ideal for deterring Badpenny from misusing her power and committing similar acts of a felony that the court charged her for.
References
Neuschatz, J.S, Lawson, D.S., Swanner, J.K., Melssner, C.A., & Neuschatz, J.S. (2007). The effect of accomplice witnesses and jailhouse informants on jury decision making. Law and Human, 32(2), 137-149. https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1007%2Fs10979-007-9100-1
Pollock, J.M. (2019). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.
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