The media have gone wild again with the hint that Adrian Peterson may reach a plea bargain in his criminal case.  He’s accused of beating his four-year old son with a stick.  

What is a plea bargain?  Does it lead to justice?

After more than thirty years of work as a prosecutor and a defense lawyer, I’ve participated in thousands of plea bargains.  What is a plea bargain are they fair to everyone?

Once a person is charged with a crime, they have two choices:

1.  They can plead not guilty and have a jury trial.

2.  The accused person can take a plea bargain and admit their guilt to some crime.

It’s estimated that about 97% of criminal cases are settled short of going to trial by the defendant accepting a plea bargain and saying, “I did it.  I’m guilty.” Why wouldn’t they go to trial?  Here’s another interesting statistic that leads to plea bargains: of the cases that go to trial, about 90% of the defendants are found guilty by a jury.

To plea bargain means the prosecutor will offer some less serious charge or less prison time or less probation in order to encourage the accused person to plead guilty and not go to trial.  Almost always, it means the defendant pleads guilty to something less than he may have actually committed.  Why would the prosecutor do this?

Because even though they win about 90% of the time, they don’t win all the time.  So, the prosecutor may offer a plea bargain to assure a conviction, particularly if the case is weak and the prosecutor fears a jury may find the defendant not guilty.  Also, trials are expensive and difficult.  Usually money’s not a big factor, but it does play a part.  What if the prosecutor knows his star witness isn’t sure about the identification of the defendant?  What if a critical witness is missing?  What if the investigating cop has accidentally gone out of town on vacation the week of the trial?  All these factors may play a part in the prosecutor’s decision to offer a plea bargain.

Why would the defendant accept a plea bargain?  His lawyer will review the evidence the government has against him and explain that 90% of the time, juries convict.  So, the question becomes: do you want to take a chance on being convicted by the jury and receiving the maximum prison sentence, or would you like to plead guilty to a guaranteed, shorter sentence?  Most defendants choose to plea bargain.

Should the defendant plead guilty if they’re innocent?  No.  However, I have been involved in cases where it wasn’t certain that the defendant was guilty, but he chose to plea bargain to assure himself of probation rather than prison, for instance.

Is it fair to victims and the community?  Maybe not, but a jury trial does not guarantee that even guilty people will be found guilty.  For a victim, knowing that the perpetrator will be sentenced for a crime may be more reassuring that getting the last ounce of justice out of him.

What do you think?