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> As many as 98% of charges end with plea bargains That’s only a problem if in the majority of cases the person is in fact innocent. Otherwise that stat is red
by andsoitis 10mo ago
> As many as 98% of charges end with plea bargains
That’s only a problem if in the majority of cases the person is in fact innocent. Otherwise that stat is red herring.
- array_key_first 10mo agoThe point is we don't really know who is innocent or not, because the incentives are so fucked. If you're poor and need to get on with your life, you take the guilty plee almost every time. Trial takes fucking forever, and it's very expensive. What this means is the you can be charged with almost anything, and the odds are very high you will plea guilty, regardless of your innocence. There's basically no incentive for the police or prosecutors to show any restraint, they have a "get out of jail free" card in the form of plea bargains.
- Dylan16807 10mo agoWhat makes you say "majority"? Let me make up a number. 7%. I think that number of plea bargains would be a huge problem if in 7% of cases the person is in fact innocent. Would you disagree? And even generally assuming guilt, a number that high gets worrying. Maybe we're only prosecuting the strongest of strong cases or something, but some of the other factors that could be reducing the rate of trials are really bad for justice.
- andsoitis 10mo agoWhat if the answer is 0.01% of cases the innocent person pleads guilty because they’re can’t afford a lawyer? That seems like a totally different problem to solve than your solution which is get rid of plea bargains.
- Dylan16807 10mo ago0.01% would be a good number. And yes the fix for that probably is something else. But uh, I never suggested getting rid of plea bargains. You might have confused me with someone else.