The Ethical Dilemma If put in a sticky situation, how far would a person go to defend the core principals of their profession, if it meant blurry the line with reality? In 1973, a massive manhunt in New York’s Adirondack Mountains came to an end with the police arresting criminal Robert Garrow. After committing a slew of atrocities, this barbaric man had been brought to justice, with the help of his attorney, Frank Armani, who had been called into the case. However, the conduct in which Mr. Armani acted, was immensely controversial then, and still heavily debated today. Early Sunday morning, two couples camping in a grassfield in the middle of the Adirondack Mountains of New York, were awoken by the sound of their tent opening. The perpetrator,
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Frank had represented Garrow in previous cases concerning issues of rape and assault. But when presented with the details of this case, the murder of at least two people and possibly two more who had gone missing during the manhunt, Armani felt he could not handle something of this magnitude. However, the judge overseeing the case summoned Armani to act as a public defender when Robert made it clear he would not disclose any information should Frank not represent …show more content…
One of the girls was tucked away in a hole in an abandoned mine shaft, and the other a mere few feet away. Immediately, Armani rushes home and to process the experience. It is during the darkest hours of the night, he writes up a plea bargain to send to the prosecution, as leverage in the case (Armani had tried to have his client placed in a mental institution for life instead of prison), but when he presented this to them, they declined. Armani describes this time as a long period of the darkest thoughts he’s ever experienced. He had not intended to keep the evidence to himself, but under the confidentiality clause he had no grounds to release the information either. However, the most emotional he had ever gotten during this period is when he was confronted by one of the girl's’ father. With a broken heart and a poker face, Armani lies straight in the face of the man he wished he’d never have to
Frank had represented Garrow in previous cases concerning issues of rape and assault. But when presented with the details of this case, the murder of at least two people and possibly two more who had gone missing during the manhunt, Armani felt he could not handle something of this magnitude. However, the judge overseeing the case summoned Armani to act as a public defender when Robert made it clear he would not disclose any information should Frank not represent …show more content…
One of the girls was tucked away in a hole in an abandoned mine shaft, and the other a mere few feet away. Immediately, Armani rushes home and to process the experience. It is during the darkest hours of the night, he writes up a plea bargain to send to the prosecution, as leverage in the case (Armani had tried to have his client placed in a mental institution for life instead of prison), but when he presented this to them, they declined. Armani describes this time as a long period of the darkest thoughts he’s ever experienced. He had not intended to keep the evidence to himself, but under the confidentiality clause he had no grounds to release the information either. However, the most emotional he had ever gotten during this period is when he was confronted by one of the girl's’ father. With a broken heart and a poker face, Armani lies straight in the face of the man he wished he’d never have to