The corrosion of the moral authority of the legal system has ominous implications as we veer closer and closer to despotism. The poor are shipped directly to jail or prison. The rich get high-priced lawyers and lengthy jury trials. And studies by groups such as Human Rights Watch confirm the punitive nature of jury trials: Those who go to jury trials get an addition 11 years, on average, tacked on to their sentences. Ninety-four percent of state-level felony convictions and 97 percent of federal felony convictions are the result of guilty pleas. Their sentences, frequently life sentences, are grim reminders as to why it is in the best interests of a defendant, even if he or she did not commit the crime, to take a plea agreement. Prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges use those who insist on a jury trial-often people who did not commit the crime with which they were charged-as examples. If everyone charged with a crime had a jury trial, the court system would implode. The students I teach in prison who have the longest sentences are, almost without exception, the ones who demanded a jury trial. “The carcel state is a subculture unto itself, with an $81 billion budget and tremendous political clout.”
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