Case Study Imagine a Small Town in Which There Has Recently Been

question 18

Essay

Case Study
Imagine a small town in which there has recently been a rash of murders that all bear the marks of the same culprit. The police investigation has gone nowhere and the town's sense of order is starting to break down. Residents are demanding that the sheriff find a culprit and threatening to exact vigilante justice on perceived criminals until a culprit is found. Given that the real murderer is unknown, the sheriff sees that she can only prevent chaos and bloodshed by framing someone who likely is not the murderer.
The sheriff has someone in mind who could be easily framed - a local man, Jim, who has been in and out of jail for other violent crimes like assault and robbery. He has no family and no one in town would protest if he were to be locked up. Moreover, he is a believable culprit and so would be easy to frame. The sheriff is fairly sure that he is not actually the murderer, and so she would likely be framing someone who, while not innocent overall, is innocent of these particular crimes. But she is not sure what else she can do to keep the peace.
-Should the sheriff frame Jim? Why or why not? What does this tell us about utilitarianism, and consequentialism more generally?

---

Definitions:

Anorexia Nervosa

An eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of body weight.

Prognosis

The likely course of a disease or ailment, or the chance of recovery or recurrence, typically made after diagnosis.

Binge/Purge Subtype

A category of eating disorders characterized by cycles of excessive eating followed by efforts to avoid weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting.

Restricting Type

Refers to a subtype of anorexia nervosa characterized by severe restriction of calorie intake without engaging in binge-eating or purging behavior.