Betrayal Hypothetical Case Paper

Unit 1 Case Study
An opinion paper considering the “Betrayal” hypothetical
In this case study Jane is accused of her husband’s murder. She was identified by a witness however Jane insists she was out of town at the time of the event but has no supporting data to collaborate her story. The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether I would forge Jane’s signature on a document to prevent her from being found guilty in a court of law and potentially receiving the death penalty. In addition, I will discuss this as it pertains to utilitarianism, egoism, and Interpretations of the “Golden Rule” from Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Confucianism. I will also discuss the results by the application to the facts and consider the questions: Was it right for you to forge your client’s signature on the register? Would your answer be the same if the client was your child, spouse, or parent? And communicate the
In the case of Jane if I applied egoism it would be in my best interest to not break the law to assist the client. To come to this conclusion I did a cost/benefit analysis of the situation. The cost of forging the document is potentially being found guilty of perjury which has a maximum term of 10 years in prison. In addition, if I am caught the client my still be punished. The benefit of forging the document is that an innocent person would not potentially receive the death penalty. In the philosophy of utilitarianism I would need to consider my moral obligation to Jane. IT would be my duty to do everything “legally” within my power to keep her from being found guilty. In this instance I would need to find an alternative solution because forging and document and lying about it is illegal. If the client was a child, spouse, or parent I would feel different about forging the document. Based on the concept of social capital I personally feel that I have an obligation to protect my