Prosecutors are supposed to charge an offender under three conditions they find that a crime has been committed, a perpetrator can be identified, and there is sufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict (Bohm and Haley, 2014.) They are not supposed to charge an offender with more criminal charge or even more serious crimes that they cannot support with evidence (Bohm and Haley, 2014.)
Prosecutors can choose not to charge or prosecute an offender for nine different reasons: they believe that an offense did not cause sufficient harm and can be a practical decision when it comes from lack of resources or over worked and understaffed prosecutors, a prosecutor may feel that the statuary punishment for a crime is to sever and in an effort to be fair they impose their own sense of judgment, they feel that there is an improper motive when the complaint …show more content…
284.) Even with the amount of evidence against an offender, they still choose who and who not to charge (Bohm and Haley, 2014.) They decide if they do prosecute what charges the offender will have to face (Bohm and Haley, 2014.) Just like anyone with some type of power, that power can be abused. Five powerful things that can be abused by prosecutors is their power to choose the punishment, choose the charges, the pressure to win the case, the plea bargains they develop, and the rewarding to snitches through reduced sentences and to negotiate deals for their testimony (Mathews, 2014.) When I watched the Holly Bobo case, many believed that one of the other offender’s testimonies against Zach Adams would be rewarded with a reduced sentence and the defense attorney even had a letter evidence where he joked to his wife he would be home before Christmas. Prosecutors are expected to win and because of that, the pressure could lead to them using a drastic measure to ensure the victory, even if the defense is actually
Prosecutors can choose not to charge or prosecute an offender for nine different reasons: they believe that an offense did not cause sufficient harm and can be a practical decision when it comes from lack of resources or over worked and understaffed prosecutors, a prosecutor may feel that the statuary punishment for a crime is to sever and in an effort to be fair they impose their own sense of judgment, they feel that there is an improper motive when the complaint …show more content…
284.) Even with the amount of evidence against an offender, they still choose who and who not to charge (Bohm and Haley, 2014.) They decide if they do prosecute what charges the offender will have to face (Bohm and Haley, 2014.) Just like anyone with some type of power, that power can be abused. Five powerful things that can be abused by prosecutors is their power to choose the punishment, choose the charges, the pressure to win the case, the plea bargains they develop, and the rewarding to snitches through reduced sentences and to negotiate deals for their testimony (Mathews, 2014.) When I watched the Holly Bobo case, many believed that one of the other offender’s testimonies against Zach Adams would be rewarded with a reduced sentence and the defense attorney even had a letter evidence where he joked to his wife he would be home before Christmas. Prosecutors are expected to win and because of that, the pressure could lead to them using a drastic measure to ensure the victory, even if the defense is actually