You work part-time at a busy pawnshop in central San Antonio. A number of neighborhood stores have been burglarized in recent years, and the owner wants criminals to think twice before they break into his pawnshop. After thinking about the situation, he posts this sign in the window one night: “$10,000 reward offered to any officer of the law who shoots and kills someone attempting to rob this property.”
When you come to work the next morning and see the sign, your first thought is that it will probably be an effective deterrent. As the day goes on, however, you begin to have doubts about the ethics of posting such a sign. Although you don’t know of any law that would apply to this situation, you’re not sure that your boss is doing the right thing. You decide to speak with him. To prepare for this discussion, list the points you might make to convince the boss to take the sign down. Next, list the points in favor of leaving the sign up. If you were in charge, what would you do? Explain your answer in a brief oral report to the class.