1 of 6

Write now Article Tools

Page 3 of 4

enough to avoid prison, but many go to jail for a long time, others go to jail for life, and even some are executed. This person told my friend to count his blessings and go home and live his life.

So what is the judicial system? Many people have congratulated my friend because the system worked to find him not guilty. He insists today that the system didn't work because he was assumed guilty and he had to pay so much money to prove his innocence. The judicial system is little more than unjust judicial gamesmanship on two fronts.

First, prosecutors put together the best case they can. Reality, truth and the facts are irrelevant. It's about what they can make a jury believe, that is if they can't force a plea bargain first. Any degree of a guilty plea is equivalent to a trial victory, and it saves money and time. That will always be the prosecutor's first desire. In my friend's case, they clearly thought they had a legal novice who would plead guilty to make it go away, and they never thought about it going to trial, thus the joke of their performance at trial. Secondly, worse crimes are worth more. If a prosecutor can try a case for perjury or a case for rape or murder, they will take the latter every time. It's like some crimes are sexier than others. Maybe it's a manpower issue and they just don't have enough room in the court system to try all the little crimes, so they have to focus on the big ones. I don't know why, but I do know the judicial system is not what I thought it was.

My friend was innocent, without a doubt. But the judicial system treated him as if he were guilty. He was incarcerated for two weeks when he was first charged. There was never an assumption of innocence. For an innocent person to prove their innocence, just any lawyer won't do. My friend never faced the death penalty, but his life was truly on the line. In those circumstances, nothing but the best suffices. The best is incredibly expensive, but worth every penny of the five figures it cost my friend. But just because he had to pay so much to keep his freedom reveals that justice is not universal. What if he had gone with a Public Defender? The lawyer he finally got was the fifth he tried. The first four read the accusers affidavits and advised him to plead guilty because it would be too expensive to fight the charges. Think about that...attorneys advised an innocent man to lie to a judge. That's incredible, and not at all what I would have expected. Is

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about What do you do when the legal system fails you?
We want to hear your view. Write now!