Many people are sentenced to really long prison terms. This means that the prisoners are aging. Some people come into prison with terminal illnesses while others develop terminal illnesses while incarcerated. Please review the resources in this week’s module, do your own additional research and discuss the following ethical dilemma…..
Bob is a 60 year old man serving a life sentence in prison for robbery. He is a habitual offender and is on his third strike. Bob is also terminally ill with brain cancer. The doctors estimate that he has six months to live. His family would like for him to come home where they can care for him until his death.
Imagine you are a state lawmaker and Bob’s family is requesting that a law be passed to release terminally ill inmates from prison so they can be cared for by their families. Answer the following questions in paragraph format:
What are two (2) reasons to support this law?
What are two (2) reasons to oppose this law?
As a lawmaker would you vote for such a law that releases the terminally ill from prison? Explain.