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School
Southern New Hampshire University *
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Course
CJ 510
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Apr 3, 2024
Type
docx
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2
Uploaded by theycallmecupcakelover
An ethical dilemma is defined as a “situation in which it is difficult for an individual to decide, either because the right course of action is not clear or because the right course of action carries some negative consequences” (Pollock, 2021). We see ethical dilemmas everyday in the United States. An ethical dilemma that comes to mind is local to me; the former Marion County Sheriff – Christopher Blair, was found guilty of perjury and misconduct charges. He was removed from office by Governor Scott in 2016. It was found that Blair would lie about how suspects were injured during arrests, and “that Blair would stop "at no means" to make traffic stops and make and clear arrests. The grand jury said it believed the sheriff pressured his deputies to make arrests, played favorites and blatantly ignored excessive-force claims”
(WKMG, 2016). The ethical dilemma is that someone had to report this misconduct to someone with the power to do something about it. To go against the sheriff could have resulted in negative
repercussions for the reporting party. Luckily, the perjury was indisputable due to a video captured by reporters. Another ethical dilemma that comes to mind is also mentioned in our textbook; it is the case of the former Attorney General in Florida, Aramis Ayala. Two months after Ayala took office, she was faced with potential death penalty cases. In Florida, the death penalty is legal, and
Ayala made her beliefs about capital punishment very clear. After Ayala announced that she would not seek the death penalty in the case of the now convicted cop killer Markeith Loyd (Cutway, 2017). The governor at the time, Rick Scott called for Ayala to recuse herself from the case; after she refused, Governor Scott reassigned the case to another state attorney and then any additional capital murder cases were reassigned to other districts (Silver, 2023)
. The governor was faced with an ethical dilemma about how to handle the situation. He could allow Ayala to continue as Attorney General, which is an elected office, and she would just
not consider the death penalty no matter the circumstances. Or, he could do something about it, which Scott did. He took the cases away from Ayala and gave them to other districts to prosecute
where the prosecutor would consider the death penalty. In both cases, I believe that the correct decisions were made. The right people came forward and then the governor made the correct choice by removing Christopher Blair, the former Sheriff, from office, and reassigned the death penalty cases to other attorney generals that
did not have a biased position on the death penalty. Governor Scott made these difficult decisions
that he felt were right; he could have faced serious backlash for these decisions. References
Cutway, A. (2017, March 16). Gov. Scott removes State Attorney Ayala from Markeith Loyd
case. WKMG
. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2019/10/08/gov-scott-removes-state-attorney-
ayala-from-markeith-loyd-case/
Pollock, J. M. (2021). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice
.
Silver, C. (2023, March 3). Former Orange-Osceola prosecutor Aramis Ayala speaks on suspect in deadly Pine Hills shooting spree. WKMG
. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/03/02/questions-linger-over-accused-
shooter-following-deadly-pine-hills-shooting-spree/
WKMG. (2016, July 29). Ex-Marion sheriff charged with perjury accepts plea deal, drops out of race. WKMG - Click Orlando
. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2016/07/29/ex-
marion-sheriff-charged-with-perjury-accepts-plea-deal-drops-out-of-race/
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