03-14-2012, 03:35 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinio....html?_r=1
"“What would happen if we organized thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of people charged with crimes to refuse to play the game, to refuse to plea out? What if they all insisted on their Sixth Amendment right to trial? Couldn’t we bring the whole system to a halt just like that?” "
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NOT a surprise. Still a huge indictment of our system, that destroys rather than rebuilds, the budget slicing that undermined the whole thing, and the pervasive use of the 'waive jury trial' for an offer maneuver that is used as a band-aid.
The reality continues to be that once someone is in trouble with the law, and convicted of a felony crime, they are usually DOOMED to an unrecoverable life. Our 'system' builds career criminals, one waiver at a time.
"“What would happen if we organized thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of people charged with crimes to refuse to play the game, to refuse to plea out? What if they all insisted on their Sixth Amendment right to trial? Couldn’t we bring the whole system to a halt just like that?” "
- - -
NOT a surprise. Still a huge indictment of our system, that destroys rather than rebuilds, the budget slicing that undermined the whole thing, and the pervasive use of the 'waive jury trial' for an offer maneuver that is used as a band-aid.
The reality continues to be that once someone is in trouble with the law, and convicted of a felony crime, they are usually DOOMED to an unrecoverable life. Our 'system' builds career criminals, one waiver at a time.
