Our Constitutional rights are being trampled on by the racist plea bargaining system. We need an end to what they call “The Trial Penalty”.
By Carissa Byrne Hessick, The Atlantic
The Bill of Rights exists to protect individuals. It protects the right to free speech, the right to due process, the right to counsel, and the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, just to name a few. If a government official tries to deprive an individual of one of those constitutional rights, then the courts are supposed to intervene.
But that’s not what happens when it comes to one of the most important rights for criminal defendants—the right to a jury trial. Instead of protecting defendants’ right to have their guilt or innocence decided by their peers, judges routinely punish defendants for exercising that right.
Specifically, judges regularly impose longer sentences on those defendants who insist on going to trial than on those defendants who plead guilty. A 2018 report shows that, on average, defendants who insist on a trial receive sentences three times longer than those of defendants who plead guilty. This practice is so common that it even has a name: the “trial penalty.”
Recent Posts
NATO Admits That Ukraine War Is A War of NATO Expansion
Take Action Now In testimony to the European Union Parliament, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made clear that it was America’s relentless…
‘The World Is At Stake’: Defuse Nuclear War Kicks Off Nationwide Week Of Action
Take Action Now “The need for action to curtail the possibility of nuclear conflict could not be more urgent,” said the campaign’s…
A Judge Has Thrown Out Charges Against Line 3 Protestors
Take Action Now A Minnesota judge ruled that criminalizing Enbridge Line 3 water protectors would be a crime. by Alleen Brown, Exposed by CMD……
Is The U.S. Violating International Law With Its Claims In The Pacific?
Take Action Now Officials argue that Washington has the authority to block enemy navies from an area ‘nearly as large as the continental United…