Malcom Alexander Case Summary

This is the story of Malcom Alexander, a 20 year old who, at the time, was found to be the culprit of an aggravated rape although he was a completely innocent man. Alexander served 38 years in prison based on unreliable and coercive police tactics that included multiple rounds of faulty eyewitness identification procedures and a lawyer who was later disbarred for complaints of neglect and abandonment by multiple clients. Ethically speaking, the police were faced with a dilemma: Although police are constantly looking to close the case as quickly as possible with the right suspect, should they close it on someone they aren’t 100% sure committed the crime with the evidence they have, or should they continue their search efforts until they are

Then, I would identify the concepts and values within Alexander’s case. The value of justice is important in this case, not only because police are obligated to bring the right person to justice, but also because it would be morally wrong for someone innocent to serve the time of a guilty individual. The value of lawfulness is at hand, because all the proper rules and regulations must be kept in place to ensure that police are being fair and upholding “innocence until proven guilty” for each suspect. Furthermore, the value of freedom is important because if convicted of a crime one didn’t commit, time would have to be served, and that is freedom taken away from the individual. A number of dilemmas are at play in Malcom Alexander’s case, from whether or not police should have incorporated Alexander as part of their case to whether or not police should have conducted multiple identification procedures with the witness. The most immediate dilemma, however, is in regards to the police’s actions in closing the case: Should the police close the case on someone they aren’t 100% certain is the guilty party with the evidence they have, or should the police continue their search efforts to become sure of who the culprit

I think that Ethical Formalism is the best analytical framework to apply in this scenario because it is suggested that what is right in one scenario will always be right and that what is wrong in one scenario will always be wrong in every scenario. Similarly to the law, everyone is to be treated equally and fairly, being given the exact same treatment regardless of race, ethnicity, cultural background or any other difference we may have. Ethical Formalism also consists of the concept of A.N.A., which teaches that we ought to act in a way we wish to see others act, not use people, and always allow the autonomy of others. Instead of using coercive tactics through witness identification, a direct violation of allowing autonomy, I would try to branch out more from just the victim’s identification. Rather than assuming she was the only witness to the crime, I would look to any potential security cameras in the area as well as canvass the area to find anyone who might have been in the area at the time who may know anything about what