How utilitarianism applies to the criminal justice system’s treatment of individuals with mental illness.
This week, we will consider how utilitarianism applies to the criminal justice system’s treatment of individuals with mental illness.
Please read/watch the following resources to help you formulate your discussion and position on the topic:
Mental health and criminal justice | Crystal Dieleman | TEDxMoncto
‘Insane’: America’s 3 Largest Psychiatric Facilities Are Jails
Read:Lee, C. (2007). The judicial response to psychopathic criminals: Utilitarianism over retribution. Law and Psychology Review, 31, pp.125-136. Retrieved from Ashford Library
This symposium is a chance for you to discuss together the ethical issues and questions that it raises, your own response to those, and whether that aligns with or does not align with a utilitarian approach. The aim is not to simply assert your own view or to denigrate other views, but to identify, evaluate, and discuss the moral reasoning involved in addressing the best ways to approach mental health recovery from a utilitarian perspective consider the following questions:
What are the treatment options other than prison? What is the moral and ethical responsibility of all of us to ensure that all people have the resources, supports, services, and opportunities they need so that we can build healthy and safe communities for all people, as Crystal Dieleman proposes in her TedTalk (Tedx Talks, 2015). What is our personal responsibility to help treat those with mental illnesses?
Your posts should remain focused on the ethical considerations, and at some point in your contribution, you must specifically address the way a utilitarian would approach this issue by explaining and evaluating that approach. If you have a position, you should strive to provide reasons in defense of that position. Make sure to include at least one academic, APA formatted citation and matching reference as support to your position.When responding to peers, you should strive to first understand the reasons they are offering before challenging or critiquing those reasons. One good way of doing this is by summarizing their argument before offering a critique or evaluation.You must post 4 posts over 3 days; 1 initial post and 3 participation posts. Your posts should add up to at least 400 words total.
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