Would you
Plead Guilty?

Plea bargaining once was looked upon with disfavor by judges and legal authorities. But today in America, the criminal justice system is totally dependent upon pleas; there are too many cases, with too few courtrooms and judges for every case to be tried. Alarmingly, not only guilty defendants enter pleas; too often innocent defendants do so as well.

What could induce an innocent person to plead guilty to a crime? The following cases lay out the difficult choices facing defendants who are offered a plea instead of a trial.

Case 1
You are 15 years old. A 14-year-old girl invites you into her house, where you have sex. Afterward, she tells her mother you broke in and forced yourself on her. You are charged with abduction, breaking and entering and rape in juvenile court. Prosecutors tell you they will try you as an adult unless you plead guilty. As part of the deal, they will also drop the abduction charge. Your public defender encourages you to take it.
Your choice: Take the plea deal Your choice: Go to trial

You chose to take the plea deal. So did Edgar Coker in 2007. However, he says he did not know that meant he would have to register as a sex offender. The judge ordered him to do so for the rest of his life.

You chose to go to trial, but in 2007 Edgar Coker decided to take the plea deal. However, he says he did not know that meant he would have to register as a sex offender. The judge ordered him to do so for the rest of his life.

Aftermath:
Just three months after his conviction, his alleged victim recanted her allegations, now saying that Coker never raped her. But the courts rejected several attempts to get his conviction overturned, and he completed his sentence. About seven years after his conviction, with the help of University of Virginia’s Innocence Project, Coker was exonerated and his name was removed from Virginia’s sex offender registry.

Fact:
Pleading guilty may result in a shorter prison sentence but can have other, lifelong consequences. Depending on the crime and defendant’s status, a conviction can lead to lifetime sex offender registration, deportation, loss of government benefits and employment restrictions.

What would you do?

You receive at most an indeterminate sentence in a juvenile correctional facility.
If tried and convicted as an adult, you could receive a sentence of 25 years in prison.