Let’s Make A Deal
By: Zachary Lecky
A plea deal. A prosecutor’s best friend and the defendant’s “friend” who turns out to be robbing and stealing from you after claiming to be by your side. A plea deal is presented as being generous to the defendant. If you are so sure that I did this crime, why offer me a deal? Why not throw the book at me to make sure I go to jail? Surely if we go to trial a jury of my “peers” will side with the trustworthy police officer over the African American drug dealer in his youth. It all comes down to money.
A plea deal allows both parties an advantage in some cases. The court avoids having to deal with a costly lengthy trail while the criminal can plead to a lesser change and avoid losing in trial on a more serious charge. However, in many cases, innocent people are pleading in case in hopes of just going home without knowledge of what’s to follow.
Who can fault them for doing this? They are scared and believe the justice system will fail them once again and find them guilty, they just want to go home to their families. Their court-appointed attorney, who is in cahoots with the court and would rather just plea and get their money, advises them to take this deal. Let’s Make A Deal.
The defendant is worried. So many things can go bad and literally only one thing can go right. In “The New Jim Crow,” Michelle Alexander paints a vivid picture:
“Finally, after almost a month in jail, you decide to plead guilty so you can return home to your children. Unwilling to risk a trial and years of imprisonment, you are sentenced to ten years probation and ordered to pay $1,000 in fines, as well as court and probation costs. You are also now branded a drug felon.”
Plea dealing, which is masked as a privilege to you, is adding to the mass incarceration problem. You are stripped of many of the basic rights that are award to the American citizen. In my cases you are stripped of voting, traveling abroad, the right to bear arms or own guns, jury service (the same jury service that would’ve most likely found you guilty), employment in many fields, public social benefits and housing parental benefits.
Voting is a human right, but apparently felons aren’t human. Some states ban felons from voting for a certain period of time after their release, while others ban felons for life.
The NRA loves to bring up the right to bear arms every instance possible, and mentally ill people have purchased guns numerous times in the past. Felons, however, cannot. Many states hold bans on felons purchasing and owning firearms, especially if they were accused of a violent crime or a crime involving a gun.
Many private employers will conduct background checks and choose not to hire felons. They are allowed to discriminate in this way, but it is not a requirement. However, certain public positions bar felons from taking employment.
By checking the box admitting to being a felon, you are legally discriminated against. National Employment Law Project wants to ban the box:
“Nationwide, over 150 cities and counties have adopted what is widely known as ‘ban the box’ so that employers consider a job candidate’s qualifications first — without the stigma of a conviction or arrest record.”
You are given a get out of jail free card, but we all know freedom isn’t free. The probability of you going to jail again is high due to you being under probation now. Under probation, you are under constant pressure. A probation order will have certain restrictions laid out in a specific case, and violation of any part of the order can result in serious penalties. Missing a scheduled court appearance. Missing a meeting with a probation officer. Committing another crime. Selling or being caught in possession of illegal drugs. Leaving the state without permission from the probation officer. This is just some of the countless things that can get you placed back in jail.
Before her New York Times best seller, Michelle Alexander penned an article for the New York Times titled, “Go to Trial: Crash the Justice System.” Alexander stated:
“More than 90 percent of criminal cases are never tried before a jury. Most people charged with crimes forfeit their constitutional rights and plead guilty.”
“The system of mass incarceration depends almost entirely on the cooperation of those it seeks to control. If everyone charged with crimes suddenly exercised his constitutional rights, there would not be enough judges, lawyers or prison cells to deal with the ensuing tsunami of litigation.”
Why don’t most people do this? If you are innocent you should stick to your guns. Sadly due to fear and constant pressure from your attorney this never happens. They lace the deal with sweeteners, “they say they have enough evidence to put you away for years,” “this offer will only get worse,” “this is your best choice.”
There are millions of cases like this but a high profile one that stuck with me is Brian Banks.
Brian Banks was a star high school Football player with national acclaim and scholarships to match. He was set to join powerhouse University of Southern California.
Banks would be jailed for charges of rape and kidnapping. He said he was innocent and was prepared to go to trail. Despite DNA coming back negative and looking in good shape his lawyer advised him to take a deal.
His lawyer feared he wouldn’t get a fair trial, based on his age, size & race. So she convinced Banks to plead no contest to a crime he insisted he didn’t commit.
His plea meant he’d avoid a possible 41 years in jail, but he was agreeing to a deal that included a sentence of anywhere from 18 months to five years.
Another factor was the lawyer fees that were piling up. His mother, Leomia Myers, sold her house and car to pay for a lawyer.
Money has played a huge factor in the ability of many people fighting for their justice. That’s cruel.
Banks would serve five years but once he was free, his accuser, Wanetta Gibson, would reach out to him. He was in shock and disbelief.
He would secretly record her admitting that he didn’t do it and with the help of the California Innocence Project, they helped present the evidence to the LA District Attorney’s Office, who determined Banks was wrongfully convicted.
After five years of jail, and countless painful years, he was finally free. Or was he? He had missed five years of his life and many opportunities due to making a deal. Who knows he could’ve been in the NFL.
In, “Widespread Use of Plea Bargains Plays Major Role in Mass Incarceration” by Danny Weil, he states,
“Because less than 10 percent of criminal cases, federal and state, go to trial, plea bargains in effect allow the state to prosecute ten times more cases than they could handled at trial.”
The plea deal is not your friend, it’s used to further push the mass incarceration agenda in America. Next time your lawyer says Deal or No Deal, like they are Howie Mandel playing a game with your life. Fight for your right.
