Professional Ethics
There are several examples of professional ethics in The Shawshank Redemption. Any criminal justice professional must remain neutral towards criminals. This professional must not show either a positive or negative attitude toward defendants or suspects; it does not matter what the public servant personally thinks about these people. In the movie we can see that during the court hearing, before the judge pronounces the verdict for Andy Dufresne, his honor gives comments from the bench about his personal attitude toward the defendant. “It chills my blood just to look at you.” These are just a few words that represent the judge in another light. The judge does not have the right to become an advocate for either side. In another scene, the warden, Norton, gives a…show more content… The guards beat the prisoners, use cruel, unreasonable punishment for any minor misconduct or just for asking simple questions. Some of the guards commit felony crimes, such as assault and murder. The guards appear to feel that their actions are justified as their in the business of rehabilitation. In addition, the warden is a religious man and takes on the role of God as his religious duty to regenerate these degenerated prisoners. As an example, he informs the prisoners, “Rule number one: no blaspheming. I’ll not have the Lord’s name taken in vain in my prison. The other rules you’ll figure out as you go along. Any questions?” The warden feels morally justified to inflict harsh and unnecessary punishment in the name of the Lord. All these major unethical practices remain customary until the State Police arrives to investigate corruption and murder at the Shawshank
