Ethical Issues 1     Running Header: Ethical Issues Involved With Prosecution of Cases          

  Ethical and Legal Ramifications in Investigation and

Prosecution of Homicide and Rape Cases Elizabeth Hall

Kaplan University  Criminal Investigation CJ210

Joseph Reynolds December 15, 2009

                   

Abstract  

                      It is the role of the investigator and the prosecutor to ensure that all investigations are conducted in an ethical manner, to ensure that evidence

and testimony will stand up in court and produce a conviction when the right suspect has been identified, and is in captivity. There are guidelines and techniques used to ensure that ethical issues are followed and that the

investigative procedures are followed. Without these standards having been upheld, the country would lose all faith in the justice system, and

innocent people would be sitting in jail due to smaller efforts to gain the real truth in the matter.                          

                         

  Ethical and Legal Ramifications in Investigation and Prosecution

Of Homicide and Rape Cases  

      

     In this day and age police, investigators, and crime scene personnel must walk a tight line in order to ensure that the criminals they arrest are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. When considering all of the types of crimes, ethics are important in each and every case. However, the crimes that are the most important to ethical investigations are homicide and rape. The reasons behind this are that these two crimes are the most heinous and leave the most psychological scars on either the victim, or the families of the victims. Ann Rand says “Any compromise between good and evil only hurts the good and helps the evil.” (O’Connor, 2006)        Having investigators and prosecutors with good ethical values and strong personal morals is imperative to the successful prosecution of cases. From arrival at the scene, throughout the investigation, and even up to the trial, investigators and prosecutors must follow the code of ethics expected of them. It is far more important to be absolutely sure that the right person is punished for committing a crime than to put someone in jail just in order to close the case.      Crime is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as: “An act committed or omitted in violation of law forbidding or commanding it, and for which punishment is composed upon conviction.” (Osterburg & Ward, 2007) To aid in the investigative process there are techniques that are followed to resolve the pressing questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. These are the facts that must be proven at trial in an effort to effectively convince a jury to convict a suspect and compile a sentence for the accused.      If the case is a homicide investigative techniques for the investigator include but are not limited to: canvassing the area, interviewing the friends and family, using informants, questioning suspects and scientific evaluation of any physical evidence found at and around the scene, documenting the actions of the victims and suspects in the days preceding the crime. Other investigations that need to be done are examining any records that can be found such as pawn shop records, wills, and/or insurance claims. All of these things provide insight into who would benefit from the act committed, commonly called the motive. (Osterberg & Ward, 2007)      If the case is rape, the sensitivity of the crime presents a more challenging nature to the investigator. The same questions need to be answered, but there is a need for more experienced and caring investigators to deal with the psychologically challenged victim. If the investigation is not conducted with special attention to the victims psyche, she may not even be able to tell her story. Of all the heinous crimes, rape is the most likely to leave permanent emotional scars. Also, this crime usually requires more proof to substantiate the victim’s story, so getting the physical evidence is more important in these crimes than any other, and more follow up interviews are usually required to get all the facts. (Osterberg & Ward, 2007)

     Some of the ethical questions to ask on the side of the investigator are: 1. Did the investigator follow the guidelines to protect the physical evidence from the crime scene and preserve the chain of custody? 2. Were there any false or incomplete reports filed?

            3. Did the investigator follow the code of ethics for law enforcement during the course of the investigation?

(Osterburg & Ward, 2007. O’Connor, 2006)      The prosecutor on the other hand has a whole different set of ethical standards, set by the American Bar Association, for example:

1. The prosecutor is not an individual agent, but a member of an institution that has the duty to seek justice, first and foremost. 2. The prosecutor works for the public. 3. The criminal investigation serves a function to gain enough accurate information to ensure that a conviction is gained, and the right person is punished for the crime. 4. Make sure that the evidence is going to be admissible in a court of law. 5. Make sure that the secrecy and confidentiality of an investigation is not breeched.

(American Bar Association, 2008)      If the ethical standards are not upheld, the ramifications could be great. Innocent people can spend years in jail even or be psychologically damaged enough that it causes to them commit suicide. An example of this is the case of the anthrax killer suspect Jim Ivins, who committed suicide before being proven guilty or innocent, due to the pressure put upon him during the investigation. (NPR, 2009) There is even the possibility that criminals could either not be convicted in the first place, or have their convictions overturned due to falsified reports or faulty handling of evidence.      In order to ensure that the number of ethical violations committed during investigation or prosecution stay at the lowest numbers possible we, as a nation, must demand that persons working in the field of criminal justice have the highest ethical and moral standards and that heavy punishments are imposed upon those few who do not choose to follow the rules. I also believe that we should make an example of them by allowing the media to have all the access to these people that they can stomach.      In conclusion, if we as a nation do not uphold these standards, the people of our country will have no faith in our justice system. Innocent people will be put in jail and criminals will have the freedom to commit crimes, without much fear of conviction.                                                          

       

   

References:  

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.)  Color of Law. Retrieved from the World Wide Web December 15, 2009. http://www.fbi.gov/hq/civilrights/color.htm Injustice Everywhere. (2009) National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project. Retrieved From the World Wide Web December 15, 2009.             http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com NPR. (2009) Ethics of Criminal Investigation. Retrieved from the World Wide Web December 15, 2009              http://www.npr.org   O’Connor T. (2006). Topics in Police Ethics. Megalinks in Criminal Justice. Retrieved from the World Wide Web December 15, 2009. http://www.apsu.edu/oconnort/3300/3300lect04.htm.

   

Osterburg, J. & Ward, R. (2007). Criminal Investigation: A Method for Reconstructing the Past, Fifth Edition. Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., a member of the LexisNexis Group. Newark, NJ.