Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Why we love to hate lawyers

Just finished an article at Skeptic.com by Steve Salerno, "Criminal Injustice." One attorney, Gary Spence, who has not lost at trial since 1969, added a sidebar, "Bad Schools, Bad Lawyers, Bad Deals." He claims almost all defendants "could claim inadequate representation." He also states that, "There are thousands of people in the penitentiary system who are not guilty of the crimes they are charged with." The prosecutors offer extortionary tactics of taking a plea for a short period of years or facing 20 years-to-life by going to trial. The power of the state is very nearly absolute, so in absolute desperation innocent people will admit. Does anybody beside me see the flaws in this system?

3 comments:

  1. Forgot to add the source: http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/09-09-02

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  2. This is a fact. I know because it happened to me. What they do is throw the book at you, beyond all sense of rational fairness, and make it so extremely risky for you to go to trial, that ususally people don't take the risk. Here, you can face thirty years in jail for (crime x), or you can sign this statement admitting and you'll get 90 days and probation. The disparity betweent he two is powerful evidence of its arbitrary meaning/fairness. If a single act can be so completely-differently treated, then the laws are bad. That simple.

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  3. "..admitting (crime y) instead and you'll get..."

    is what i meant to type

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