Weekly Discussion 9 (last)

Alejandro Aguirre

April 6, 2014

SOC 122 – M/W 3:30 PM

Kubal

 

Weekly Discussion 9 (last)

 

            In Democracy Now’s story, Ex-Auto Safety Head & Parent of Dead Victim: GM CEOs Should Face Prison for Covering Up Safety Flaws, the ethics of what the CEO of GM is discussed. A count of 13 people who died in an accident involving deliberately concealed flaws of GM cars was recorded. GM had to wait for a number of deaths to discover these flaws (ignition switches that led to engine shutdowns and defective airbags); and even after these flaws were pointed out, the company refused to fix these low costly problems. At a hearing, the CEO expressed a hesitancy to admit that GM cars were not as safe as other cars. Furthermore, the CEO has concealed some documents that are supposed to be disclosed to customers. A lawsuit against GM has been filed.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/4/3/ex_auto_safety_head_parent_of

 

            The abusive treatment of inmates in solitary confinement was discussed in Democracy Now’s story, Treating Humans Worse than Animals: Prison System Voices Decry Solitary Confinement of Mentally Ill. What brought this issue to attention was the case of a mentally ill inmate in solitary confinement who was told to drink detergent in their cell by a correctional officer. The inmate vomited uncontrollably and cringed in pain while crying for medical attention that never came. The correctional officer denied the inmate help, which eventually led to the inmate’s death and the officer’s arrest for violating the inmate’s civil rights to life. It was discussed that inmates are perceived by the public as the worst beings, but do not consider how the system makes the inmates this way by abusing them. For example, inmates are denied visitors and receive tickets for the most ridiculous reasons. Most mentally ill inmates are put in prisons rather than mental institutions, which can prove dangerous for inmates considering the main case. This is a cause of the problem. Solutions to the problem include the training of officers how to handle the mentally ill and to identify inmates with mental disabilities.

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/4/1/treating_humans_worse_than_animals_prison