The United States criminal justice system is riddled with cases of many varieties. Some have obvious outcomes while others warrant more detailed analysis. However, some cases go beyond the court into other courts, where they are decided, such as Jackson versus Hobbs in 2012. The courts try to lighten the load of cases they have by offering plea bargaining, an agreement among a defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant pleads guilty to a charge that is less severe than what he or she is initially charged for in the hopes that clemency will be administered. Sometimes, however, people accused of a crime are completely innocent, and it is not until technology is released, such as DNA testing, decades later that these people are proved to …show more content…
There are cases stacked upon cases that must be attended to daily, while at the same time, crimes are being committed. The court system has trouble keeping up, and in order to cease long, drawn out trials, plea bargaining has been allowed in the criminal justice system. This is useful for both criminally charge individuals along with the courts themselves for several reasons. Most people know the case going on with Jared Fogle, the former representor of Subway. In 2015, Fogle decided to plead guilty to child pornography charges along with crossing state lines to exchange money for sex with a minor (Castillo, 2015). Based on this plea deal, Fogle will likely serve somewhere between five and twelve years in prison, pending approval from the court system. This plea deal also states that the government will recommend fewer than thirteen years in the prison system for the defendant, with Fogle paying a minimum of $100,000 for each victim involved in the case. Plea bargaining is extremely helpful for this case. For one thing, defendants that use plea bargaining can evade the expenses and the time of defending himself or herself at a trail, as well as get around risking a worse sentence and the bad exposure that could cause. In addition, the prosecution also saves time and money by avoiding a long, drawn out trial, and both of the sides do not have to stress about going to the trail. It does not matter which side instigates the plea bargain, whether it be the prosecutor or the defendant, but both sides to have to completely agree with each other before something occurs out of that plea bargain. Because of the circumstances, I believe that justice was served. The victims will be compensated for counseling based on what Fogle did, and Fogle will serve his
The case against Hubert Morgan for the “murder and felonious assault” on correctional officer William Hesson was an appropriate case for a plea bargain. Had Morgan not agreed to the plea bargain, he could have been charged with life without chance of parole for kneeing the correctional officer in the chest while they were both voluntarily wrestling in the laundry room. The plea bargain attempted to reduce the sentence to a maximum of ten years in prison for Hesson’s death. Although I disagree with the charges, it was much more appropriate for Morgan to be sentenced to seven years than to a life sentence without parole. However, even still it would have been more accurate to charge Morgan as a juvenile because he was only seventeen
This is where the controversy comes; Karla was as much guilty as Paul or even more according to some people, but the prosecutors could do nothing because in exchange for plea barging she testified crucial evidence. The prosecutors said that they would have never agreed to the plea bargain if they had seen the tapes. However, the plea bargain received a lot of criticisms from Canadians. A lot of questions were raised, where comes the limit to the use of plea bargain? Did the prosecutors do enough digging before turning to the plea bargain
Throughout the history of the United States there have been numerous court cases that have drawn an incredible amount of public attention. Whether this was because the person involved was a known figure, or the offense that's being charged upon the defendant and/or the conviction that the case resulted in. It seems as if the United States just has an abundant of cases to choose from when choosing to analyze a case and that can possibly be based on the justice system used in the states to proceed a crime in court. One of those controversial cases in the history of the United States was the Lizzy Borden case. This case showed how to escape from the hands of the justice system.
Federal prosecutors in the case against Jared Fogle have asked a judge to sentence the former Subway spokesperson to twelve years and seven months in prison reports the Associated Press. In August, Fogle pleaded guilty in an Indiana court to one count each of distribution and receipt of child pornography and traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. The former carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, while the latter has a maximum of 30, but prosecutors agreed to a shorter sentence in a plea agreement. Fogle 's attorneys are asking for a 5-year prison term, telling the court that he is 'profoundly sorry ' for his actions.
victim and the defendant may be influential without clear guidance about the deliberation rules. Black suspects and White victims; blacks were more likely to receive a death sentence vs White suspects and black victims “Not only did killing a White person rather than a Black person increase the likelihood of being sentenced to death, but also Black defendants were more likely than White defendants to be sentenced to death” (Eberhaedt, 2006). Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck founded The innocence Project, in 1992, their mission was to free those who were wrongly convicted of crimes through DNA. To date. there are approximately 350 people exonerated of crimes they didn’t commit through the Innocence project.
Both sides will carefully weigh the strength of their case and decide whether it is prudent to go to trial. The prosecution may also consider the publicity surrounding the case and whether there is public pressure to prosecute that particular defendant to the full extent of the law. The defense will consider the individual defendant’s desire to go to trial and the seriousness of the potential sentence. The Pros of Plea Bargaining
A defense lawyer who has a heavy workload may persuade the criminal defendant to take the plea, which gives up an important constitutional right, a right to trial, in order to close many cases that he or she may be currently handling as swiftly as possible. Plea bargaining can also stir up ethical issues since criminal defendants can get off too easily with deductions in sentencing. Once a bargain for a reduced sentence is given, the victim may not be too fond of this adjustment from the original charge. The victim and their family could feel as if the justice system failed them, especially if the criminal defendant did not receive the punishment that they
Plea-bargaining dominates the American criminal justice system by offering a reduced sentence to those who stand accused of a crime in exchange for the accused pleading guilty or to a lesser charge and waiving the right to trial. The problem with plea-bargaining is that it lays a heavy burden on the accused while theoretically reducing the burden carried by prosecutors and the court system. Plea-bargaining has trickled its way into the American criminal justice system disguised as a win-win for accused criminals and prosecutors but has weakened the justice system by allowing prosecutors to score guilty pleas from vulnerable individuals and allowing serious criminal offenders walk on lesser charges. Plea-bargaining severely undermines the criminal
In the United States court system, many criminal cases are not resolved in a timely manner. One of the more common ways in which many cases are resolved quickly is through plea bargaining. Plea bargaining is defined as an agreement between defense attorneys and prosecutors. (Spohn & Hemmens, 2012) Alschuler (1979) describes plea bargaining as the self-conviction act of a defendant. Today, approximately ninety percent of defendants plead guilty because of plea bargaining.
I do not think that the plea bargain lets someone off easy. While they might receive a lesser change they also are having the fact that they admitted to doing something taken into consideration by the court system when they decide on the punishment. I feel that it equals out in the long run for those who end up taking the plea bargain. In small cases yes the person might get off with just probation, but is probation was something in condensation then the crime could not have been that detrimental. They would not offer something like probation to a deranged murderer if they confessed to killing someone.
Since the founding of our judicial system there have always been individuals claiming innocence to a crime that they have been found guilty of, traditionally, after their sentencing no matter how innocent they may or may not be would have to serve, live and possibly die by the decision of their peers. The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck alongside Peter J. Neufeld faces this issue by challenging the sentencing of convicted individuals who claim their innocence and have factual ground to stand upon. The Innocence Project uses the recent advances in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing to prove their client’s innocence by using methods that were not available, too primitive or not provided to their clients during their investigation,
(Miladinovic, Z., & Lukassen, J., 2015, February 25) The outcome of a just trial and its verdict, is based on proof of evidence, which ensures what 's best for the
Since the courts are backlogged and many public defenders and judges being overworked, this causes plea bargaining to be used repeatedly. According to Walker et al. (2018), plea bargaining leaves many people no option but to plea guilty even when this is not their best option. This is due to a multitude of reasons but mainly to receive a lesser charge. For example, a felony and little time in jail may be better than risking multiple felonies and an excessive amount of time in jail.
Plea bargaining raises concerns about the risk of innocent people being wrongfully convicted if they’re persuaded to accept a plea
People plead guilty for crimes that are not committed by them to avoid trial, but by doing so the right decision wasn’t made.