The ABA task force makes 14 recommendations, including the need to collect and analyze data on plea bargains; the need to give defendants access to discovery materials before they enter a plea; and the need to eliminate bail requirements or pretrial detention when they're used to coerce someone into pleading guilty.
so if you take the plea deal there is no opportunity for bail? Which I feel is correct since you are taking a shorter sentence and punishment
But most stark in the report is research that cites innocent defendants who agree to falsely plead guilty, sometimes on the advice of their own lawyers. An Innocence Project database of exonerations includes dozens of people who falsely pleaded guilty.
This is what I feel is the big problem because people are scared that they might not be able to beat the case so might as well serve 12 months then maybe 5-10 years depending on the case
"Trials have become rare legal artifacts in most U.S. jurisdictions, and even nonexistent in others,"
does this mean that alot of criminals are taking these plea bargains instead of going to trial?
The deals also exacerbate racial inequality, with Black defendants more often subject to prosecutors' stacking of multiple charges in drug and gun cases. Altogether, defendants face stiffer punishments for going to trial — known as a trial penalty — that can add seven to nine years or more to their sentence.
I feel these criminals are taking the plea bargains so quick just because they are told to because if they want to have a court room decision the prosecutor is going to bring up little offenses that could possibly give him more jail time even thus they weren't a significant matter in the case
A task force that includes prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys and academics cited "substantial evidence" that innocent people are coerced into guilty pleas because of the power prosecutors hold over them, including the prospect of decades-long mandatory minimum sentences.
why do these prosecutors have so much power? Why are they feared so much in the court room?
In any given year, 98% of criminal cases in the federal courts end with a plea bargain — a practice that prizes efficiency over fairness and innocence, according to a new report from the American Bar Association.
in what crimes do people usually take the plea deals. Are they violent crimes or just simple misdemeanors?
The 2017 Los Angeles city budget, for example, provided 23% of the budget to police, while 9% of Los Angeles county’s budget went to policing. About 97% of police budgets go toward operational costs such as salaries and benefits.
this is a crazy statistic now I wonder how much money it was because statistics can be hard to judge upon
The county now runs the department, and implemented de-escalation training, defined chokeholds as deadly force, and required that officers step in if a colleague is using excessive force. Officers were tasked with patrolling on foot, introducing themselves to residents, and hosting community barbecues. Violent crime dropped 42% between 2012 and 2019.
I think putting some money into extra training and classes would benefit the police force and also civilians. It would have police trained better and handle situations better with maybe more respect to who they are involved with
Defunding the police could result in fewer crimes and less violence from police. During several weeks in 2014 and 2015, when New York City police pulled back on “broken windows” policing that focused on actively patrolling for low-level crimes, about 2,100 fewer major crimes were reported, which represents a 3-6% drop in a matter of weeks. If police are not actively patrolling for minor crimes and are responding to fewer major crimes, there are fewer opportunities for violence. [19]
I don't really feel that defunding the police would lower and form of crime but yes it would result in less crime from police
Police departments are also often outfitted with surplus military equipment, increasing police firepower and the attitude that police are at war with communities, which can escalate situations to violence. [12]
I can see the argument but police need to have the best equipment there should be no reason we are sending police into crime situations with low level equipment. People who put there lives on the line everyday should have top of the line gear to keep them protected. Criminals shouldn't feel safe when police arrive they should always have to fear them because then they wont commit crimes.
While there are multiple interpretations of “defund the police,” the basic definition is to move funding away from police departments and into community resources such as mental health experts, housing, and social workers.
i feel this is a good passage to read because I feel people including my self don't truly understand what defund the police mean and just jump the gun thinking it will just take money away from the police but its actually "spreading the wealth" and putting it into different aspects