Thursday, January 20, 2005

Frontline: The Plea

“The Plea Frontline (PBS: June, 2004)

Nearly 95% of All Cases Resulting in Felony Convictions Never Reach a Jury. They are Settled Through Plea Bargains In Which a Defendant Agrees To Plead Guilty In Exchange For a Reduced Sentence. But What Are the Implications of a System That Relies on Pleas to Expedite Justice?

2 comments:

Susannity said...

dang I missed this one but hopefully can catch one of the re-runs. the other day my husband said he was listening to a report on NPR where they discussed the release of a man who had spent 43 years in prison and they said that is the longest anyone currently in prison has been in prison. makes you realize that many of us who think of "life imprisonment" isn't really what we think it is. our justice and penal systems need major overhauls imo. people who should be spending their life in jail for killing people aren't, and those that should be getting counseling, ie - psychological, substance, etc. are being put in jail.

Michael said...

I agree completely Susanne. Eric Schlosser's third book in his current muckraking trilogy, the first two were "Fast Food Nation" and "Reefer Madness," is going to be a look inside the American prison system--should be very good (as is his other books!)

You can watch the episode of "The Plea," the website is linked to this post, anytime you want ;)(as long as your computer will run online videos)