Why would innocent people plea guilty, instead of going to trial? One of the things I came to realize several years ago, is how little I, and others, understand the ‘justice system’ of America. Revecntly John Olivery broke down our Broken Justice System on his HBO television show. The points contained within are important for you and I to digest. As sellout black pastors ‘brag’ about taking a meeting with the President to discuss Prison reform, what does that even mean? Are prisons the only aspect of our injustice system that needs to be reformed?
Let’s get deep here into why Innocent people Plea guilty all the time…
There are levels to the system, that all need to be fixed. As this clip shows you the Prosecutor has a ton of power. They decide what cases go to court and which do not. This is precisely why the Mike Brown murder by a police officer garnered so much attention, as the ‘prosecutor’ Bob McColloch, who recently lost reelection, decided not to prosecute Darren Wilson. That’s way too much power for anyone in our government to have.
This allows for more blacks to go to prison than whites, for the same crimes. Prosecutors can decide to press charges on a black person, but not a white person and do this very thing all the time. Had a black person been accused of murdering Mike Brown, even if they were a police officer, and I feel Bob makes a different decision.
In the video clip above, John Oliver shares a short story of why Innocent people plea guilty all the time. These prosecutors often issue deals that ‘seem better’ than risking a trial.
Would you rather spend 2 years in jail, 3 years on probation, or ‘risk’ spending 10 years or more in jail?
A real problem here is these prosecutors face no consequences. Often, it’s not about whether or not you actually committed the crimes you are charged with. The goal is to prove you did not – which is not always easy to do. The system is not set up to help you prove your innocence. Instead, it functions to put as many people behind bars as possible. While it’s not legal to discriminate during jury selection, racial discrimination has evolved. White people have all sorts of ‘code words’ that they use to say who can serve and who cannot. Without giving the reason of that person’s race, there are multiple ways to get around selecting fair jury’s.
There are tons of innocent men and women sitting in jail right now. Endless stories of people who’ve sat in prison for the best years of their lives, all because they could not disprove the charges. Not only are prosecutors a problem, but so are the defense lawyers. Too often, the defense lawyers lay down, and talk their clients into taking the plea. Truth is, the plea is really the main goal.
Prosecutors do not want to take every single person to trial….
That would back the courts up for months, and years. Instead, their goal is to get Innocent people to plead guilty, or no contest. That way, the ‘justice system’ can still make their money. These deals are quicker than full blown trials, and far less expensive. If they can show a person the option of a few years n jail, or possibly a few years out on probation with no jail time, but some kind of dent on their personal record that keeps them in debt to the system, it’s a win, for the system.
Meanwhile, people who are truly guilty of crimes, walk free, and rarely even get arrested let alone charged with any crimes. We can see that unfolding right now in our Oval office. How many crimes have already been reported in the past 2 years, with no one facing a single criminal charge? The few who are facing charges, seem to be on the hook for crimes unrelated to the current administration. They were just a connected name. Even still, many of them have the money to fight the charges, and stand a good chance of winning, as the Jury selected, is usually their peers.
When blacks go on trial, sadly the people deciding their fate, rarely can relate to their story.
You see, the way our system works, Innocent people plea bargain. Rich people go to trial. The cards are stacked high against people of color, and lesser economic means. Taking the plea is often the better option. The good lawyers who can get their clients off, are far too expensive. This is how the ‘system’ functions. These are the reasons it must change.
