In the Corcoran State Prison Whistleblowing Case Study, two corrections officers were virtually dismissed for the actions they taken to end the mistreatment of prisoners. Officers Richard Caruso and Steve Rigg watched as their fellow corrections officers abused their power by placing rival gang members in a small Security Housing Unit (SHU) playground to promote fighting. Officers placed bets on inmates, treated fighting as a sport, and used unnecessary deadly force with a firearm at will (Dryburgh, 2009). Caruso and Rigg, both former Marines, had a superior understanding of the ethical handling of a firearm; their colleagues' actions became unacceptable and so they took action (Dryburgh, 2009). Caruso and Rigg went to the superintendent with concerns about the shooting policy and allowing known rivals in the same SHU yard at the same time; believing that it was under these circumstances that the recent death of an inmate had occurred (Dryburgh, 2009). In vain, the concerns of the two officers fell on deaf ears; the warden took no action to stop the mistreatment of prisoners. Officer Rigg attempted to minimize violence by ordering officers not to place their rivals next to each other at their given level, but this order was only followed while he was on duty (Dryburgh, 2009 ). The chain of command was ineffective; they were now labeled whistleblowers by their fellow officers and began to face retaliation. The reprisals against the two officers became too much to bear; the officers felt that legal action was their only recourse. They filed lawsuits, and Corcoran State Prison was quickly in the spotlight. The FBI would soon become involved middle of paper... in the problem, leaving inmates continually mistreated. If they had been transferred, then they could have sought legal help and/or media attention. Moore 5 It is unclear whether or not Corcoran State Prison would have stopped these unethical practices if outside entities were not involved. Guards said there was confusion over policies and protocols, leading to unethical treatment of inmates. The confusion, the ethical dilemma, was resolved when policies and protocols were clearly defined; there was no more gray area, now everyone was on the same page. The impact of the circumstances surrounding the Corcoran investigation has been an eye-opener for prison officials around the world; it was a lesson to respect the mission statement and place more emphasis on the ethical treatment of prisoners.