Prosecuting a crime is a process, which is not limited by the processes related to the investigation. In that regard, it will be an understatement to say that the work is finished with merely collecting evidences, interviewing witnesses, and catching the offender. Bringing the case to the court is another stage of the prosecution, where the success of the trial might be dependable on the work done through the previous stages. This work implies many considerations to be taken in account when prosecuting a case, among which are legal and ethical consideration. In order to examine the legal and ethical considerations in case prosecution, this paper presents an analysis of these considerations in the context of such crimes as homicide and robbery.
Taking the example of a homicide, the ethical consideration can be related to any bias through the process of investigating the crime. In that regard, examining all the evidences, collecting and reporting all the information available on the crime scene can be seen as some of the processes that might be affected, in case there was a bias in the investigation. In terms of evidence, following the established procedures for evidence collection leave little or no possibility for the evidences to be replaced.
The requirement of a chain of custody for the evidences to be admissible implies several persons to testify including the person who collected the evidences, the forensic serologists, the detective, the laboratory in the state department of public safety, and the criminalists who send the evidences to the FBI. The omission of such requirements either due to personal beliefs or in order for the case to be closed, in the worst case might result in the conviction of the wrong person, or in case all of the procedures were not followed, the defense might exploit these points and release a murderer. (Becker, 2005). In that regard, for the prosecutor the ethical issue might be related to the dilemma of following the law in terms of the requirements for evidence collection, and thus releasing the offender, or breaking the law and allowing the evidences to be used.
In the case of a robbery, an ethical consideration might arise when the victims of the robbery attempt to identify the offender. In that regard, it is stated that, the perceptions of the victims can be questionable, due to confusion and psychological trauma, associated with the robbery. (Becker, 2005). Additionally, crime scenes might contain valuable items, which can be usually taken and sold from the crime scene.
As stated by Tracy Rogers, a professor in the anthropology department at the University of Toronto, and the author of a paper titled “Crime Scene Ethics: Souvenir, Teaching Materials, and Artifacts,”, “Guidelines are necessary to define acceptable behavior relating to removing, keeping or selling artifacts, souvenirs or teaching specimens from former crime scenes, where such activities are not illegal, to prevent potential conflicts of interest and appearance of impropriety,” (Page, 2005). The consequences in the first case, when relying on the descriptions of the victims, in convicting the wrong person, while in the second, the integrity of the investigation might be disrupted.
Regardless, of whether the ethical conduct is documented as a legal guideline or not, when investigating a crime, it can be concluded that, following documented and specified procedures is vital in order for the case to be prosecuted properly.
References
Becker, R. F. (2005). Criminal investigation (2nd ed.). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Page, D. (2005). Crime Scene Ethics: Take It or Leave It. Officer. Web.
Sherr, A. THE ETHICS OF PROSECUTION School Advanced Study. Web.