Plea Negotiation Issues in the US

Is plea bargain just an incentive for the defendant to plead guilty?

I cannot answer that question and I am certainly not in a position to do so; I can only speculate, but judging from a case of a young woman who rejected a plea deal and unsuccessfully defended her case, it appears that those who lose their cases after rejecting a plea deal that was offered appear to be penalized.

The young woman in question is Jennifer Mee from Florida. At the age of nineteen, she made an appointment with a young man with the intention of robbing him; her two male friends carried out the robbery that ended fatally.

Under Florida law, all participants in a fatal robbery are equally guilty of the murder as the person who committed the murder, even if they themselves had nothing to do with the murder.

The only question I’d like to know the answer to is, “Why didn’t Jennifer’s attorney advise her to accept the guilty plea, since Jennifer was clearly guilty of murder under Florida law?”

If you agree to this law, that’s the law in Florida whether we like it or not.

If you are playing a sport, this is not the time to dispute the rules of the game while playing.

Jennifer’s attorney must have known that she was clearly guilty based on the evidence.

He was offered a fifteen-year sentence as a plea deal for pleading guilty, but instead pleaded not guilty.

Jennifer was an uneducated twenty-year-old woman with little life experience, so it’s easy to see why she would have taken the advice of a professional.

She was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

What a difference in sentences, fifteen years for pleading guilty or life without parole for pleading not guilty. Is the last sentence a penalty for defending yourself?

I am not a legal expert, but this seems unethical, if not illegal.

The harsh sentence appears to be for defending himself rather than participating in a fatal robbery.

Here are some facts to keep in mind:

1 Jennifer had no prior conviction

2 Jennifer had no history of violence

3 Jennifer had no intention of killing the victim.

4 Jennifer is not responsible for what someone else does with a firearm.

I cannot understand why no attorney would have advised Jennifer to accept the plea agreement, since, based on the facts of the case, she was facing an indefensible charge.

One simply wonders if plea agreements are really ethical because a person is guilty or not guilty, so someone who is not guilty can accept a plea agreement.

Guilty plea agreements provide an incentive for the defendant to plead guilty with the promise of a reduced sentence. Those who decline the agreement with the prosecution are sanctioned for defending the charges.

I asked Jennifer herself why she never accepted the prosecution agreement that was offered to her.

She said: “His lawyer told him they were going to take him to trial.”

No reason was given for this decision, but according to Jennifer she was under the impression that life meant 25 years and compared to what she was offered in the plea deal, she could also object.

It’s true that Jennifer didn’t kill anyone but, according to Florida law, she was just as guilty of murder as the one who pulled the trigger even though she or the other guys involved in this crime never intended to kill her. the victim.

So how could Jennifer’s attorney not see that? That’s a question that I probably won’t get an answer to.