Justice For All
Most people assume that someone accused of a crime in the United States is afforded all the protection the constitution decrees. That he or she is innocent until proven guilty. That if they cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided them.
All that is true according to our laws, but there is not equal justice for all. Those who cannot afford the high price tag for a private attorney will be represented by a “Public Defender.” Sounds great, but there are problems within the system. One of the problems is that the attorney from the public defenders office is actually an employee of the state. The state is the entity that is prosecuting the accused. Add to this the fact that the public defender is given such a huge case load that he/she cannot possibly give a prepared defense to any but the highest profile cases and very few of them.
What generally happens is the prosecuting attorney will develop a case using the worst possible scenario. Whether the evidence supports it or not, he will charge the accused with as many felonies as possible so that if convicted of all the charges the accused is looking at a sentence of 20,30,40 or more years.
Those in jail who cannot afford to post bail often are forced to cool their heels for several months before they receive a visit from their public defender who informs them concerning the charges against them and the gravity of their situation. This attorney will most likely suggest that a deal can be brokered with the prosecuting attorney where some of the charges will be dropped resulting in a reduced sentence, if the accused will plead guilty. This is referred to as a “plea bargain.”
What you now have is someone who is not representing the best interest of the accused, but someone who is really a lackey of the prosecuting attorney. Prosecuting attorneys are notorious for having the attitude that every defendant is guilty as charged and is deserving of the most severe sentence the law will al1ow. Now enters the public defender as he attempts to convince the accused to plead guilty or face the possibility of spending the rest of their natural life in prison. Rather than pursuing how they can best defend the accused they usually present how the prosecutor has such a strong case against them, that they would be foolish taking their case to trial and risk receiving the larger sentence. That is why the majority of the public defender’s cases are settled via the plea bargain route.
Are their innocent people in prison? I have conversed with many who were charged with molesting a minor that were told if they didn’t plead out they would most certainly be convicted, since the jury would believe the testimony of a child as opposed to their testimony. There are those who were under the influence of alcohol or drugs and don’t even remember the events that were alleged to have occurred with regards the crimes for which they are accused. Their are others whose mental and emotional state while awaiting trial was such that they could not make reasonable decisions when being pressured to accept a pleas bargain. I believe there are men and women in prison who shouldn’t be there, and there are those who have received sentences far in excess of the crimes they committed.
It should be noted that once a person agrees to a plea bargain, they lose any right of appeal with regards their conviction or the sentence they receive. Our judicial system gives a convicted defendant the right to appeal their conviction or the length of their sentence if they can show sufficient cause for these things to be reviewed. This is not so if they agree to a plea bargain. This means, when they recover from the emotional shock of all that has transpired and realize they have made a mistake in accepting the plea, there is no way of trying to correct it. There are men and women in prison serving long sentences that know they should never have given up their right of appeal. Usually this is not explained to them when the public defender convinces them to accept a plea bargain.
When we recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the Unites States, we end it with the phrase, “With Liberty and Justice for All.” I long for the day that those words would be true.