Ethics week 4 discussion post
Your trial was fair – you were represented by an attorney and the jury was not coerced in their decision.
The jury’s guilty verdict was unanimous.
Your representation was fair, i.e., you were represented by a competent attorney (not a first-year law student) who had adequate time and resources to develop your case.
You believe that your attorney truly had your best interest in mind – and perhaps s/he even believed you were not guilty.
You do not need to be concerned with the fact that you may appear to be guilty if you flee.
The prison in which you will be incarcerated is a federal penitentiary, not a federal prison with “white collar criminals.”
Your main discussion prompt: If you had a chance to escape and flee to another country (or remain in hiding in the USA), would you do so?
Consider and discuss the following:
1. Do you believe that you have a “social contract” with the United States, similar to that described by Socrates in the Crito?
2. If you HAVE entered into a social contract with the US, what should you do based on Social Contract Theory?
3. What do you think you actually would do?
If you believe you DO have a social contract with US in #2 but would choose to escape and break that contract, explain why. How would you justify your escape?
4. Would a different punishment warrant different behavior on your part, e.g., would you make the same choice if your prison sentence was only 1 year?
5. Finally, if this case was applied to your sibling or child, what would you counsel him/her to do?
