If I were convicted and got the death penalty, there would be people who were interested in my case who would be less so if I got life in prison, so I would take my chances.
Plus, if I plead guilty I would be swearing to tell the truth before God and then lying. Can’t do that.
I would completely fall apart in prison, but I would do that whether I was on death row or regular population.
Regards,
Shodan
If you plead guilty, the person who actually committed the crime gets off free.
Also if some new evidence showed up, remember that DNA testing is rather recent, the fact that you’d pleaded guilty would make it more unlikely that you’d get another trial.
Heck I wouldn’t plead guilty, at first, even if I did do the crime. Not until a nice plea bargain was offered.
…at which point the police, every single one of them being familiar with my case and knowing that the other guy’s confession absolves me of guilt, and that confessions made at gunpoint are totally admissible in court, would decide not to arrest me. As they take the other guy away, they would leave me behind having sex with said beautiful woman, framed by the sunset.
Many people in the US have been convicted based on identification (and mis-identification) of eyewitnesses. It’s not always “suspect” in the eyes of the jury.
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True enough. Not a certainty, but in many cases a conviction is a high probability. Sometimes the government offers a very substantial reduction in exchange for a plea, and it’s a very difficult position for the defendant (and his/her lawyer).
This varies considerably by location. In some places (Seattle, D.C., Anchorage as examples) some of the best defense attorneys in town are public defenders. In other places (rural South for example) I hear that the court appointed attorneys are overworked and underpaid, resulting in poor representation, even in capital cases.
Considering that outside certain law school academics who make capital cases their specialty, most lawyers don’t usually try capital cases, it’d be wiser to go with a PD who has a fair amount of experience doing so than some white shoe lawyer with an elegant office but who normally practices in a more glamorous non-criminal area or even a run-of-the-mill criminal defense attorney who does not normally take capital cases.
Right to remain silent:
Well worth the 48 minutes.
I’m stubborn and have a real penchant for the truth. Never would plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.
Still, could you boil it down/give some highlights?
I’d take my chances with the jury. Even in a death penalty case, it’s not like if you loose they take you out back of the courthouse and cut off your head.
Short version: speaking freely and at length to police officers who are investigating a crime is not likely to help you, and stands a fair chance of hurting you.
The prosecutor has to prove a case against you; as he builds his case, he’ll happily include things you say to police that implicate you, but he doesn’t have to include things you say that are exculpatory. The longer you talk to police, the more likely it is that you’ll say something that can be used against you, whether you actually committed the crime or not.
Let’s say your next-door neighbor was murdered. The cops ask you if there was anyone he had a conflict with, and you say “oh yeah, he was a real bastard, lots of us hated him, me included.” You’ve just admitted that you had motive to kill him, especially if you go on to elaborate about the screaming match you had had with him a few hours before he was found dead. Without telling you that he was shot to death with a 9mm handgun, they ask you if you own any guns. Assuming you do own guns (including a 9mm), do you think you should answer that question?
Traffic stop: cop asks if you’ve been drinking? Lying is a bad idea, but answering yes (even if it really was only one beer) will definitely not help you. You have the right to remain silent.
To the OP’s question: I would never plead guilty to a crime I did not commit. The moment I think the police might be eyeing me as a potential suspect, I will stop talking to them.
But that won’t happen if the guy knows his rights, will it? Your scenario sound like film noir, with the single bright light hanging overhead and badgering cops.
Every person that has ever watched a police show on t.v. should be aware of their miranda rights yet it boggles the mind the number of people that voluntarily give up incriminating statements.
If I didn’t do it, then I wouldn’t plead guilty.