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Criminal Justice Process

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With crucial factors determining the success and/or failures of the death penalty, we certainly take note to the exonerations of convicted persons, especially those who were exonerated after being executed. There are currently 2,147 people who were sentenced to death that have been exonerated, totaling more than 18,750 years lost. It is hard to understand how an innocent person stood so close to being murdered, nevertheless it’s even harder to understand how an innocent person, in fact, was murdered.
Cathleen Burnett an associate professor of criminal justice and criminology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, having seen the death penalty process unfold along with the increasing number of exonerated individuals examined the language …show more content…

It usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-court indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that possible for the graver charge.” A plea bargain can be used to the prisoner’s advantage. In one scenario he can bargain crucial evidence in return for the removal of the death penalty being considerate as a punishment for his crime. In another scenario, a guilty prisoner can take a plea bargain for a lesser charge in return for his testimony against another person who may be actually innocent, using him as the fall guy. “It is the rare defendant who pleads guilty and is nonetheless sentenced to death. Thus, a defendant who knows himself or herself to be guilty has a strong self-interest to make a plea deal in order to escape the death …show more content…

We all have heard the saying “the hands of one is the hands of all” this is considered the accomplice liability. Even though “the accomplice did not perform the actus reus and may or may not possess the appropriate menas rea,” he still can be treated as equally responsible as the actual guilty person. Because of the accomplice liability rule it is possible that a factual innocent person may be eligible for the death penalty. If convicted and sentenced to death for the action of some else, factual innocence can be seen as a wrongful death sentence and a miscarriage of

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550 Words | 3 Pages

The author looks at the time period that the three were released and discusses the reason for their release, which is Alford plea. In this case, the defendant is voluntarily forced to plead guilty while still proclaiming his or her innocence. The author also looks at the evidence and ends up concluding that that there was little evidence that linked the defendants to the murder. In addition, the author criticizes the state’s government for forcing the men to plead guilty. Using another case, the author looks into this matter by examining the flaws related to the Alford’s plea.

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631 Words | 3 Pages

Defendants asked for leniency and the prosecutor offers a deal and they take it because they are tired of sitting in jail, but few realize that by taking

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1137 Words | 5 Pages

In another case, a man named Carlos DeLuna was sentenced to death and executed in the year 1989 for stabbing a gas clerk to death. DeLuna claimed he was innocent to the end. After he was killed, a report was published proving his innocence. If for no other reason, the death penalty should be abolished for the one in twenty-five innocent people that have been

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652 Words | 3 Pages

A plea bargain is an agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant in a criminal case. The prosecutor gives the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser charge or to the original charge with less than the maximum sentence. For example, the prosecution and the defense may agree to a misdemeanor charge instead of a felony charge or the parties may agree to a sentence of 12 years instead of 20 years if the recommended sentence for that crime is 10-20 years imprisonment.

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1161 Words | 5 Pages

He suggests that other social policies also lead to the death of innocent individuals, but they are not banned. The author presents deductive arguments to support his position, including the idea that murderers who are not executed have the potential to harm more innocent people. He believes that opponents of capital punishment should acknowledge their responsibility for innocent lives lost due to murderers who were not executed. Prager concludes that capital punishment is necessary to protect innocent lives. Opponents should confront their responsibility for every innocent already murdered and yet to be murdered by murderers who should have been

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1497 Words | 6 Pages

There are many people who commit crimes all over the world with no intention of leaving their life rebellious life. A lot of convicts only desire to do their time with the hopes of getting sentence cut down by being well behaved, however, criminals who are sentenced to the death penalty, such as Pete McKenzie, desire life and freedom, so they resort to anything that they can do in order to be free including murder and attempted escape. It is difficult for some convicts to change their ways and in certain cases, some of them never do, even with the years they spend in prison. Criminals like Pete McKenzie can’t leave the life of crime and continue to commit crimes in prison.

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352 Words | 2 Pages

• Plea-bargaining weakens the criminal justice system with the concept that if all cases went to trial the court system would be unable to support the workload. This is a factor that can be disputed by jurisdictions that have ban plea bargaining and continued to operate appropriately. Plea-bargaining is known as the agreement in a criminal court proceeding that is made between a defendant and a prosecutor. Plea bargains typically involve a lesser sentence in return for an omission of wrongdoing. Plea bargains do not forsake the criminal justice system, however they do allow for a speedy exit strategy for prosecutors.

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331 Words | 2 Pages

• The Constitution is weakened by the excessive use of plea-bargaining to avoid a trial. Research has shown that criminal defendants who exercise their Sixth Amendment right to trail by jury are more severely punished than those who accept plea bargains (Devers, 2011, p. 2). It is assumed that plea-bargaining weakens the criminal justice system by allowing violent criminals to plea out of serious charges and putting the disadvantaged and potentially innocent or partially innocent in a position where exercising their constitutional right to a trial by jury is too risky of an option. Prosecutors are required by the state to carry the burden and prosecute the accused.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

Plea Bargaining is the most effective tool of prosecutors to minimize the time required to obtain convictions. Around ninety percent of cases are concluded using plea bargaining. (Barkan and Bryjack, Page 2) This process moves cases through the system quickly and prevents the need to add more judges and court systems if these cases were to go to trial. (Barkan and Bryjack, Page 249) From the judge and prosecutors point of view, this is a necessary and effective method of managing caseloads.

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One of the best quotes I found on the motivations behind the use of plea bargains comes from former President Jimmy Carter, in which he points out that “In many courts, plea‐bargaining serves the convenience or the judge and lawyers, not the ends of justice, because the courts lack the time to give everyone a fair trial,” (“Excerpts from Carter’s Speech to the Bar Association,” 1978). The plea bargaining system is convenient, not just. Plea bargains are not negotiated for the best interest of the defendants, but for the prosecutors and judges looking to funnel cases out of the courthouse as quickly as possible. This lack of care for the defendant obviously leads to mistakes. Eighteen percent “of known exonerees pleaded guilty to crimes they didn’t commit,” (Why Innocent People Are Pleading Guilty, 2018).

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1023 Words | 5 Pages

A topic such as a plea bargain has many supporters and opponents. Because "plea bargaining is responsible for 97 percent of federal felony convictions" (Lat), it is an essential topic to research and discover whether or not it should remain in place and the impact it has already had on the judicial system. But first, what is "plea bargaining? " Plea bargaining is when a defendant is at risk of high sentencing or punishment but is faced "with an opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser charge or the original charge with less than the maximum sentence" (Dever).

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644 Words | 3 Pages

In this case, how do we reconcile the benefits of plea bargaining with the importance of justice? Our criminal justice system is a system where “95% of criminal defendants plead guilty to the charges against them” whether they are guilty or not (pg 11).

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949 Words | 4 Pages

People plead guilty for crimes that are not committed by them to avoid trial, but by doing so the right decision wasn’t made.

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901 Words | 4 Pages

Death Penalty is a very ominous punishment to discuss. It is probably the most controversial and feared form of punishment in the United States. Many are unaware, but 31 of the 52 states have the Death penalty passes as an acceptable punishment. In the following essay, I will agree and support Stephen Nathanson's statement that "Equality retributivism cannot justify the death penalty. " In the reading, "An Eye for an Eye?", Nathanson gives objections to why equality retributivism is morally acceptable for the death penalty to be legal.

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738 Words | 3 Pages

Plea bargaining is a tool often utilized during the adjudication process that serves several different purposes for all parties involved. The definition of a plea bargain, according to Frank Schmalleger, is: “The process of negotiating an agreement among the defendant, the prosecutor, and the court as to an appropriate plea and associated sentence in a given case. Plea bargaining circumvents the trial process and dramatically reduces the time required for the resolution of a criminal case” (Schmalleger, 2016, p.233). With plea bargaining, not only is the defendant offered an alternative to going to trial, but the defense is spared the strenuous process of producing enough substantial evidence to potentially get a conviction. The court is

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