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It’s an important conversation to have and I was disputing your characterization that people routinely plead out when innocent, which is a tenuous claim and str
by jsmthrowaway 9y ago
It’s an important conversation to have and I was disputing your characterization that people routinely plead out when innocent, which is a tenuous claim and strongly argues for reform which perhaps we should be slower to adopt. It’s a key point. I’m trying to remain civil and substantive, and I wish you’d extend me the same courtesy.
(Edit: I’m out of posting quota for today, but I at no point said what you’re claiming I’m trying to tell you in even the most uncharitable interpretation.)
- mikeash 9y agoIt's tough to do that when you throw such ridiculous statements at me. The felony conviction rate in the US is around 70%. That doesn't sound to me like "innocent people are almost never arrested in the first place." The rate of false convictions for people on death row is about 4%. That's for by far the most scrutinized cases out there. According to this article, it's believed that somewhere between 2% and 8% of convicted felons are innocent people who pled guilty: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/11/20/why-innocent-people-plead-guilty/ http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014/11/20/why-innocent-peop... Maybe we have a disagreement over what number constitutes "almost never"? I'm trying to talk about the real problems bail causes in the justice system, and you're trying to tell me that it doesn't matter because basically everyone who gets arrested is guilty anyway. That's not substantive, and it's only superficially civil.