Legal Ethics Essay: Making the Decision and Its Implications

This essay delves into the ethical and legal complexities surrounding the case presented in 'Making the Decision,' a fictional movie about a man wrongly convicted and executed. It examines ethical discrepancies like missing evidence and corruption within the justice system, arguing for legal repercussions against those involved. The essay emphasizes the sanctity of life and the need for thorough investigations, including Supreme Court involvement, to prevent wrongful executions. It further explores the challenges attorneys face in death penalty cases, balancing their professional duties with personal morals, and discusses the death penalty's impact on society. The author argues that an imperfect society cannot create perfect justice, thus leading to potential judicial errors and the unjust conviction of innocent individuals. The essay concludes by suggesting that true justice necessitates addressing the root causes of crime within society.

Running head: MAKING THE DECISION 1
Making the Decision
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation

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QUESTION 1
Firstly, “The Last Word” is a fiction movie that revolves around a 17 years old man named
Jonny Frank Garret who is being accused of raping and killing 76 year old Sister Tadea Benz.
He is later prosecuted and executed using a lethal injection for this crime at the age of 28.
Soon after his death individuals involved in his case started dying mysteriously, this included
the medical examiner, District Attorney of the case and also the news reporter who was
covering the case. Their deaths is believed to be occurring following a curse left behind by
Johnny since he promised to release his wrath on not only the jurors, but essentially any one
close to them (Axel, 2017). Due to fear of the strange deaths occurring, one of the jurors who
defended Johnny in court desperately tried to prove Johnny’s innocence before the curse kills
his son who was 10 years of age.
There are some ethical discrepancies clearly seen following the execution of Johnny Frank.
The society, the church was glad and even celebrated Garrett’s death, however many people
still believed in his innocence. These ethical discrepancies include missing evidence, untested
evidence, and what seemed to be an overzealous local government determined to convict in
order to please the community. (McGuire, 2011). Corruption is also seen since there is also a
jailhouse snitch who testified against Garrett.
The best action to be taken for those involved in Johnny’s case is to have their license
provoked and legal action to be taken against them. For Johnny’s life to be saved, much time
should have been taken in analyzing the samples and evidence collected in the crime scene.
Also according to the Supreme Court, Johnny’s life could have been saved if he was both
under 18 years of age and mentally handicapped. Johnny was just a suspect and not a convict
since the samples were not tested to prove him guilty. The local government was only
interested in assuring the society their safety by executing the wrong individual.

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QUESTION 2
Life is priceless, sacred and irreplaceable, once lost cannot be retrieved. Therefore
despite the Attorney having responsibility to make decisions, it is necessary for the court to
have well defined rules to follow before coming to the final decision (Kramer, 2011).
In cases of execution, the prosecutor should also not be involved in decision making
since it may be out of impulse. The judgment being imposed should always be just. Thorough
investigations should be done and only when the worst of the worst has occurred for
execution to be done (Lane, 2010). In cases of execution, a Supreme Court should be
involved for further investigations. This prevents executing the wrong individual like in the
case of Johnny Garrett.
QUESTION 3
Death penalty is a harsh judgment, considering the judgment is made by attorneys
who are actively involved in the society. Most of them belong to a religious group and have
morals in which they have developed since childhood and now adults.
Those handling a case whose judgment would lead to death penalty would definitely
make it hard for them. However, because of their duty, they should not find it difficult to
impose judgment so long as it is just, transparent, fair and abides by the rules set (Kramer,
2011). The argument supporting this idea is that the death penalty, although it may be unfair
in relation to the one to whom it is applied, is nevertheless justified, because it prevents
others from committing the same crimes with its awesome influence. In my opinion, an
imperfect society cannot create perfect justice. Imperfect justice (which consists of imperfect
people, brought up and educated by an imperfect society) does not exclude a judicial error,
moreover, elevates it to the category of mandatory, i.e. perhaps people who have not
committed any crime (including a serious one) will be unjustly convicted (Banks 2020). Here
the law of personal interest comes into force (how much this or that party will materially

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interest me). On the other hand, if there are no regulators of behavior, there are no laws
(including those that are intimidating), then we cannot speak of any way of improvement.
The ways in which the abolition of the death penalty is possible. Eradicate imperfect people,
and then the death penalty will be unnecessary, because in a perfect society there will be no
sources that give rise to unlawful crimes, including crimes against the person.
References
Banks, C. (2020). Criminal justice ethics: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, California :
SAGE Publications, Inc
Kaehne, A. (2017). Last Word: Crisis in Social Care. Political Insight, 8(1), 40-40.
Kramer, M. H. (2011). The ethics of capital punishment: A philosophical investigation of evil
and its consequences. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kramer, M. H. (2011). The ethics of capital punishment: A philosophical investigation of evil
and its consequences. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lane, C. (2010). Stay of execution: Saving the death penalty from itself. Lanham, Md:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
McGuire, K. (2011). True Crime: Contagion, Print Culture, and Herbert Croft'sLove and
Madness; or, A Story Too True. Eighteenth-Century Fiction, 24(1), 55-75.

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