Correctional Ethics Summary

Covin maintains that corrections ethics has the fundamental goal of deciphering such toxic behaviors that harm at risk communities as well as prevent unjust rules, laws and cultural basis to enhance the community’s well-being. More specifically, Covin notes that the concepts that are developed by corrections ethics must be thoroughly incorporated into all aspects of the criminal justice system. This includes the internal practices and procedures but also the environmental factors that contribute to jail and prisons. This leads Covin to introduce another two of Rawl’s concepts as related to his contract theory that prove to be of particular relevance to the environmental factors that he had mentioned previously. First Covin refers to Rawl’s …show more content…
Covin coins this phenomenon the “legacy correctional institutionalization” as a way to articulate this transmission of values. Covin recalls the all too often familiarization that young children experience who are within at risk communities due to their parental figures who are entangled into the criminal justice system. Moreover, the physical placement of prisons and jails within poorer communities instills a sense of familiarity within the “mental landscape” of children and adults that impact their association with the criminal justice system. Covin suggests that to combat such ingrained issues there must be a large multi-institutional effort that rally’s around poorer communities to not only instill alternative options but invest in these communities so that they may have access to power, position, and property. Covin suggests that this collaboration must include institutions of learning such as colleges and universities, as well as the prisons themselves. Prisons, Covin suggest, can at as an environment of learning so that offenders have the opportunity to learn basic life skills that were missed during developmental stages.
In many cases, as Covin notes, the only institution that families within at risk communities can go to that has any sense of structure and power is the black church. To elaborate on this Covin includes …show more content…
The first that Covin suggests is the use of diversion programs that includes community focused education programs or other mandatory training. The second is deferred sentencing where a judge may choose to not impose a sentence while a defendant maintains certain behavior patterns. The third option is alternative sentencing within the drug courts who require defendants to undergo treatment or related training. The forth is the restorative justice model that requires defendants to engage in positive community development. The next suggestion includes the home detention-sentencing program that requires offenders to be restricted to their home. The sixth suggestion is similar in that it includes some freedom for offenders and only requires them to report to the jail either in the evenings or on weekends so that they may continue employment. The seventh suggestion is a work release that allows the already incarcerated to report to their jobsite exclusively in order to provide some form of income. The eighth suggestion includes community service aspects so that the convicted can work within the community to restore and repair dilapidated areas. The ninth suggestion includes electronic monitoring as a means to track sex offenders so that they are forbidden to enter areas such as school zones or certain residential areas. The next suggestion includes sobering living