Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement and Prisoner Abuse

Abstract

Bandura's research and theory on the mechanisms of moral disengagement demonstrate the various ways that persons distance themselves from their mistreatment of others to avoid or circumvent ethical constraints that should and otherwise would govern their behavior. This article examines the serious problem of prisoner abuse through the lens of moral disengagement theory to understand in part why such abuse occurs and persists. This application of moral disengagement theory underscores the importance of addressing these social psychological dynamics in any program of prison reform and the need for further research in a setting that traditionally has resisted in-depth empirical examination.

Exploring Perceptions of Healthcare Quality in Oregon Male Prisons: interviews with individuals recently released from long-term imprisonment

“…Tim's story is extreme, but it is one of many similar accounts of horrendous abuse doled out on people who are imprisoned (Kipnis, 2012;Weill & Haney, 2017). Robert Jaffe, a highly respected and well-established criminal defense attorney, wrote: "no one is as bad as his worst acts or as good as his best.…”

“…The current punitive-focused system that pervades the United States' correctional facilities, promotes moral disengagement among society and justice system professionals, especially those within correctional facilities (Weill & Haney, 2017). Bandura's mechanisms of moral disengagement are the pathways in which people can distance themselves from a moral issue, and not have to engage with it in a moral capacity.…”

“…This can be seen, not only inside correctional facilities, but in the greater public. These mechanisms mitigate our lack of compassion toward the mistreatment of people who are imprisoned, and how correctional officers mistreat those people to horrifying degrees (Weill & Haney, 2017).…”

“…Advantageous comparison can also function in allowing the thought that imprisonment is better than receiving the death penalty and at least they have "three hots and a cot" (Weill & Haney, 2017, p. 298). Although, with the extensive documentation of prisoner abuse (Weill & Haney, 2017), it seems correctional facilities are not the "liberal paradise" that former Sheriff Joe Arpaio would have people believe (AZQuotes, 2017).…”

“…The correctional officers that are in facilities and are face-to-face with the imprisoned individuals, are the bottom of the correctional chain. They are trained to follow orders and enforce rules by any means necessary, EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTHCARE QUALITY IN OREGON MALE PRISONS 8 but not to question the morality of their actions (Weill & Haney, 2017). This idea was also condemned by law in the Nuremberg Trials, in which Nazis were found guilty, regardless of the fact that their atrocities were not their idea and that they were just following orders (The Nuremberg Code, 1949).…”