I was listening to the radio the other night. They were discussing two Brits who were extradited to the USA over their involvement in the Enron scandal. It was pretty boring until I heard that in the U.S. Federal Court, 90% of the accused plead guilty. This just would not happen in the UK, where we don't have plea bargaining. An example was given. A guy was facing 30-40 years if found guilty. He plea bargained and got a reduced sentence of just a few years. The allegation made was that the plea bargaining system is coercion. And that possibly many inocent people opt for a very short sentence, rather than risk a huge one.
At the same time, many more people who are guilty as sin plea bargain for a much lighter sentence than they would otherwise get. Usually, a person charged with two or more offenses will bargain to get all but one offense thrown out and then take the punishment for the remaining charge. My home county is probably the plea-bargain capital of the US.
The advantage is clear if we are talking about a guilty person. I was just wondering how I would feel if I was innocent, yet up ahead was a possible 30 year sentence. And they dont go at you because they think they will loose. Just imagine an innocent person pleading guilty, because they were fearful of a miscarriage of justice, and the thought of 30 years so overwhelming that they pleaded guilty. It does seem coercive.
I don't doubt that there are a few innocent people who plead to avoid a long sentence but the evidence would have to be overwhelming against him. But I don't think the number is that great. I'm not a legal expert, but I'm pretty sure the justice system here works a bit different than it does in the UK.
Plea bargans are a reality because there is no possible way to take all accused people to court for trial. Our system does not have that capability. In Canada, the courts have become so over crowded they have given over much of the family law processes up to local churches (with consent from both parties) to try and relieve some of the burdon. It seems to me the more modern and educated our societies get, the more crime we have as a result. I say we go back to being stupid but hard working and respectful people.
True, just a system big enough to take all cases to trial would cost so much money I could not even imagine the cost. Being able to plea offenders down to things like probation and avoid the trial, prison care, etc... does save a lot of money in the short run but I feel the lower penalties encourage people to do crimes they may not do if they had a reasonable expectation of doing real time for the crime.
