An innocent man was released from jail after thirty years...X celebrity has received a lighter sentence after pleading guilty...These are things heard often on the news, in movies, on the radio. Evidently, plea bargaining is a part of everyday culture. But should it be? The practice of plea-bargaining incarcerates innocent citizens, encourages repetition of crimes, and motivates people into committing misdeeds.
Plea-bargaining allows criminals to avoid proper retributive justice for their actions. For example, Jared Fogle, a spokesman for Subway, was convicted of child pornography and molestation in August 2015. However, after arguing for a plea deal, his previously set sentence may be dramatically reduced to 13 years, with a possible reduction of five additional years. This would guarantee that Fogle would not have spent sufficient time in prison - usually about 20 years - for punishment and penitence (Castillo). Like Fogle, many others who commit less violent felonies and misdemeanors argue for a plea bargain in order to avoid facing …show more content…
A bar shooting in Florida, for instance, could have easily been prevented had plea bargaining not been utilized in the shooter’s case previously. 19-year-old Jamee Husband had been convicted of armed robbery once in his teens, but because he pled guilty, he was let off after a short stint in jail. He was even allowed to purchase a gun after this incident (Doudrick). By receiving a shorter punishment, Husband was not deterred from repeating the crime because of the lack of severe consequences. Another situation that emulates the “less punishment, more repetition of crime” is child abuse. Sometimes, parents who confessed to child abuse were able to maintain custody over them, only to continue physically and mentally harming the child (Belz). If a proper trial without shortcuts occurred, the frequency of repeated abuse would diminish greatly, if not be completely
Plea-bargaining allows criminals to avoid proper retributive justice for their actions. For example, Jared Fogle, a spokesman for Subway, was convicted of child pornography and molestation in August 2015. However, after arguing for a plea deal, his previously set sentence may be dramatically reduced to 13 years, with a possible reduction of five additional years. This would guarantee that Fogle would not have spent sufficient time in prison - usually about 20 years - for punishment and penitence (Castillo). Like Fogle, many others who commit less violent felonies and misdemeanors argue for a plea bargain in order to avoid facing …show more content…
A bar shooting in Florida, for instance, could have easily been prevented had plea bargaining not been utilized in the shooter’s case previously. 19-year-old Jamee Husband had been convicted of armed robbery once in his teens, but because he pled guilty, he was let off after a short stint in jail. He was even allowed to purchase a gun after this incident (Doudrick). By receiving a shorter punishment, Husband was not deterred from repeating the crime because of the lack of severe consequences. Another situation that emulates the “less punishment, more repetition of crime” is child abuse. Sometimes, parents who confessed to child abuse were able to maintain custody over them, only to continue physically and mentally harming the child (Belz). If a proper trial without shortcuts occurred, the frequency of repeated abuse would diminish greatly, if not be completely