The coercive power found in plea bargains pushes various innocent defendants to plead guilty over risking harsher punishment at trial. Lucian Dervian and Vanessa Edkins in their study “ The Innocent Defendant’s Dilemma: An Innovative Empirical Study of Plea Bargaining’s Innocence Problem,” conduct a study to simulate the coercion and fear that occurs in a criminal trial. The study focuses on a college classroom study where the students were blamed for cheating on a test and were offered two choices: to admit to cheating on the exam in exchange for a more lenient sentence or to undergo a trial ran by the University’s Academic Review Board. The results demonstrated that “ well over half of the innocent study participants, regardless of whether
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By overcharging defendants, prosecutors instill fear into defendants, further utilizing their power to dominate plea negotiations. There are two types of methods to overcharge defendants, these include horizontal overcharging and vertical overcharging. Vertical overcharging occurs when the prosecutor charges the defendant with a higher charge than which was present in the warrant, while horizontal overcharging occurs when the prosecutor charges the defendants with more accusations than present in the complaint ( cite). The creation of charges without substantial proof places defendants in a difficult scenario as it places pressure on them to take a plea deal or contest more charges at trial. Coercion, emotions, and desperation as clear variables defendants take into consideration when entering plea deals. In the context of game theory, someone who receives various harsh charges is more likely than to avoid trial due to its uncertainty. Overcharging defendants cannot guarantee more pleas, however, it certainly makes pleas more likely. Prosecutor overcharging serves as proof for the inherently unequal power held by prosecutor falls burdens the defendant. In order to improve plea bargaining, practices like overcharging must be regulated by judges to produce fairer …show more content…
These wrongful convictions can be a product of wrong confessions, improper police practices, and faulty identification processes. For any first-timer, the interaction with law enforcement could become negative because the police could attempt to extrapolate information by taking advantage of the defendant’s nerves. False confessions contribute largely to exonerations as data shows “ 65 exonerations in 2015 were for convictions based on guilty pleas, more than any previous year. The great majority were drug cases (46/65), but eight were homicide exonerations—all of which included false confessions “ (Michigan Exoneration). Although emotions cannot be completely controlled, law enforcement agencies must consider variables like emotions to avoid wrongful convictions. These exonerations are examples of the failure in plea bargains to provide an efficient form of justice and to provide a fair chance at
By overcharging defendants, prosecutors instill fear into defendants, further utilizing their power to dominate plea negotiations. There are two types of methods to overcharge defendants, these include horizontal overcharging and vertical overcharging. Vertical overcharging occurs when the prosecutor charges the defendant with a higher charge than which was present in the warrant, while horizontal overcharging occurs when the prosecutor charges the defendants with more accusations than present in the complaint ( cite). The creation of charges without substantial proof places defendants in a difficult scenario as it places pressure on them to take a plea deal or contest more charges at trial. Coercion, emotions, and desperation as clear variables defendants take into consideration when entering plea deals. In the context of game theory, someone who receives various harsh charges is more likely than to avoid trial due to its uncertainty. Overcharging defendants cannot guarantee more pleas, however, it certainly makes pleas more likely. Prosecutor overcharging serves as proof for the inherently unequal power held by prosecutor falls burdens the defendant. In order to improve plea bargaining, practices like overcharging must be regulated by judges to produce fairer …show more content…
These wrongful convictions can be a product of wrong confessions, improper police practices, and faulty identification processes. For any first-timer, the interaction with law enforcement could become negative because the police could attempt to extrapolate information by taking advantage of the defendant’s nerves. False confessions contribute largely to exonerations as data shows “ 65 exonerations in 2015 were for convictions based on guilty pleas, more than any previous year. The great majority were drug cases (46/65), but eight were homicide exonerations—all of which included false confessions “ (Michigan Exoneration). Although emotions cannot be completely controlled, law enforcement agencies must consider variables like emotions to avoid wrongful convictions. These exonerations are examples of the failure in plea bargains to provide an efficient form of justice and to provide a fair chance at