Let’s start with a basic one:
You are a prison guard in a small town. A mob gathers outside the prison, demanding access to a prisoner who has been indicted but not yet tried for rape. The power and telephone lines have been cut, so you cannot call for backup. The mob intends to kill the prisoner.
1.The mob becomes violent, and you and others will be hurt unless the prisoner is released into the hands of the mob. Do you release the prisoner to them?
2. The prisoner is charged with abusing a child, and the mob is led by the child’s distraught father. Do you release the prisoner to them?
3. Members of the mob produce the prisoner’s wife and son, and threaten to harm or kill them unless you release the prisoner. You have reason to believe that these members of the mob will stick to their word. Do you release the prisoner to them?
4. Combine #2 and #3, and the problem is racially motivated because the prisoner is black and the mob is white. Do you release the prisoner to them?
How did you answer these questions? Did your answer vary from case to case? Why?
1 Comment
April 26, 2008 at 2:48 am
I think it’s an unfair situation to be in.. Because whatever I do, the mob’s gonna harm someone – either me or the accused or the accused’s family – and there’s nothing I can do to prevent it… I confess that I’m not a hero when it comes to matters of life and death, but i’m not a complete wimp either… So, i guess I’ll try and talk some sense into the crowd, scream my lungs out, or when nothing’s working, I’ll probably lie to them that the prisoner’s dead, hoping that they’ll buy the story and leave his family alone… As i said, its an unfair situation, as a mob has many heads but no brains…
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