Euphemistic labeling masks that deferred prosecutions let wrongdoers buy their way out

Evidence

The term deferred prosecution puts a linguistic mask on the nature of the practice. It suggests that the criminal trial has been put off to a later date. In practice, it essentially says “We will let you off this time with a fine and a promise to reform, but change your ways and don’t do it again.” The Michigan law professor David Uhlmann (2013) argues that this type of settlement should be limited to first-time wrongdoers whose violations are not too severe. In cases of serious violations, he contends, “They should be prosecuted, not be allowed to buy their way out of criminal liability” (Uhlmann, 2013). — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1570

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels Cooper’s social-conservatism argument — euphemistic re-labeling of harmful practice as protective/lenient is the same linguistic masking Bandura theorizes as moral disengagement through euphemistic labeling. — connects to: Lenient sanctions of powerful wrongdoers draw outcry as whitewash; Deferred prosecution lets serious corporate wrongdoers buy their way out of liability
• DEFINE: Defines ‘deferred prosecution agreement’ by exposing the linguistic mask that obscures its actual meaning — a neat example of euphemistic labeling as moral disengagement.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1570