Question

Accounting ethics: A criminal has taken five of your neighbors as hostages and has threatened to kill them unless five of his compatriots serving time for murder are released from prison. He has already shot one of the hostages in the leg. If the five compatriots are let free, authorities estimate that they will return to their home country of Mongolia, spend time with their families, and then begin murdering others next year. Statistically speaking, they are likely to kill a total of between 10 and 30 people in Mongolia. a. Should the authorities release these prisoners? b. Applying the Issue-Contingent Model, what elements of moral intensity are especially important to you in formulating your opinion? c. What factors should a utilitarian take into account in evaluating this trade? What conclusion would a utilitarian likely reach?

Answer 1

a. No, these prisoners should not be released as once they are released they would anyway start keeling people. And then it may be possible that catching them again would be difficult.

Instead, the respective authorities should help in finding alternatives to save the five individuals which are being captured by that criminal.

Thus would not only save those five people but would make the entire country safe.

b. For this case, important elements of moral intensity in Issue-contingent model are :

• Magnitude of consequences : This depicts the level of impact of the result which is the outcome of any decision made. Whatever decision is being taken, it would have various consequences associated with it. So before coming to any final conclusion, it's effects are being noticed. Like for example, in this case, if the prisoners are not made free, it should be kept in mind , what can the criminal do to the persons who are being captured by him. Also it should be measured that what consequences it will lead to, of the criminals are made to be free. On comparing all these situations, decision has to be taken.
• Social consensus : This is also an important element. Whatever decision would be taken against those criminals would be judged by the society whether it is right or wrong. Hence, it is very important that society should be in favour of the decision. If in pressure, officers are ready to make those criminals free, the society can revolt against this decision, as those criminals would be harming the people once they are free. Do decision must be in favour of society.
• Concentration of effect : it describes inversely how much individuals are being affected by the decision taken seeing the situation. It has to be kept in mind while taking decision that any decision would make how many individuals in danger. This is related to measure the consequences of decision. In this case, it is decided whether leaving these criminals would lead death or killing of many onfividusla or would be resulting saving the life of those five captured people.

c. Factors undertaken by an utilitarian in this case:

• Possibility of action : The first factor is what action is being possible in this type of case. If its possible to save those five people, it should be the priplority to save those.
• Usefulness of action : a whatever action is decided to be taken, it should d be properly evaluated that to what extent they are useful in protecting the lives of the one in danger. And whether it will not have any consequences in future due to the decisions takin in present.

d. The conclusion to which a utilitarian would reach would be possible very practical as they think.

Well, this is correct to an extent in this case as it needs to think practical. They would be suggesting to find ways in which all those five caputed people can be made to be reduced first. This should be first priority. Whether if it needs to free those criminals. But they should not be made to be free till the time the five people are not released from the capture of criminals.

After those people are released, the police should keep an eye on criminals and their activity and try their best to have a catch on them, so as they cannot harm anyone else.