Many victims of crime do not like plea bargaining. If you were a victim of a crime, or a close friend or famil

Question

Many victims of crime do not like plea bargaining. If you were a victim of a crime, or a close friend or family member of a victim, how would you feel if the guilty person was given a lighter sentence because he or she pleaded guilty and avoided a trial?

What if you were accused of a crime and, although you knew you were innocent, the evidence pointed so overwhelmingly to you that you believed you had no chance of being acquitted in a trial? In this situation, how might you feel about the option of plea bargaining?

Answer 1

Trials take a lot of time and cost money. A plea bargain is still a guilty plea and will result in a rap sheet for life. It does not necessarily mean a significantly lighter sentence.

If you are innocent, ask for a judge to decide. The chances are that the judge will understand. Juries are too fickle and are more likely to find you guilty than a judge will.
If you are guilty, you want a jury, because you stand a better chance of being convicted on lesser charges or maybe a "not guilty" verdict, depending on how good your lawyer is.

Answer 2

A plea bargain is often a way to guarantee the conviction of a criminal when there is some risk that a full trial might result in an acquittal. In other words, a lighter sentence is better than no sentence, at all.

Regarding the second part of your question, think about this. If you were the innocent person facing a sure conviction, would you rather sit on your principles for a longer sentence or, plea bargain and be out sooner. Either way, the conviction stands and remains on your record. For many people, the sooner they see their freedom, the better.

Answer 3

that's a deep question I would say many questions and I have to think very well before answering... but I would really like to (hoping I can afford a good English being a non-English speaking)... I have to think... it's very hard...