pretend you are the sheriff of a small town. there is a criminal who has harmed numerous people in the town. as you watch over him in his jail cell, a mob approaches the building outside and demands that you let him go. they threaten to burn down the whole town if you won't. do you surrender the prisoner to the mob knowing he may be severely harmed or even killed before he is allowed to have a trial in court? or do you keep him out of harm's way knowing the entire town might be burned down? why did you come to this answer? as you answer, please consider what your own ethical beliefs are and how you came to those beliefs. for instance, are there any family, friends, religious leaders, teachers and so forth who have helped influence your views? does having a particular philosophical, spiritual, or ethical belief system influence your decision? do your politics or the politics of friends and family? what other options might you take if you had another set of views?
