In a previous post I quoted Justin Brooks, from the California Innocence Project, saying that over 95% of criminal cases in California end up with a Plea Bargain. This is where the prosecutor and your attorney agree a crime that you admit and a sentence you will receive.
The benefits to the state are significant as it reduces the costs associated with the administration of justice. The main question though is that is it at the expense of Justice?
Often a plea deal is framed such that the victim feels they have a choice of spending a few years in Prison vs a few decades if they go to trial. The problem is that innocent people may be coerced to admitting to a crime they didn’t do. This clears the books but particularly for serious crimes, leaves the guilty person at large.
There is a question of whether England has a system of Plea Bargains. In a recent Twitter post by “the Secret Barrister” they made it clear that no such system exists.
In a recent documentary about the The Maguire 7 their youngest child (Patrick) states that during the trial and for the duration of his sentence he was continually offered his freedom in return for an admission of guilt. Clearly Plea Bargains happen in England regardless of what they are called.
Another question is do they exist in America (California)? It seems that most criminal cases are settled this way but what Brian Banks found was that his sentence did not match the Plea he expected to receive. The judge decided on a sentence that nobody agreed to or recommended.