U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Your course syllabus requires you to watch the documentary “The Plea” (http://video.pbs.org/video/2216784391/) this week. In this forum post a response (minimum of 400 words) discussing the case studies in the documentary. In your response please note your opinions on plea bargaining in the court system and if this documentary changed your mind at all on the fairness of the court system in the United States. Have you known anyone personally (friend or family member) that has gone through a similar experience? If so. and if you would like to share, please do so. Respond to your classmates in a substantive manner.Your post must include at least two outside sources and provide full and proper citation of these sources. You must respond to your classmates in a substantive manner. A substantive response engages their post, the material in the forum, and is at least 100 words in length. Posts, such as “I agree with you” or “good idea” are not acceptable.

Classmates’ answer: 1. In one on the first cases that was shown, Irma Stewart was arrested. During the arrest there was no reason given to her about the charge but instead she was just placed into his police car. Regena Kelly was also arrested at her job and had thought the arrest was because she had not paid tickets but the police officer only told her that is was not due to that. A informant who had worked for the narcotics task force, implicated twenty five men and two women for federal drug charges. Irma Faye and Regena had tried to talk to their court appointed lawyers but were dismissed and basically thrown on the back burner. Irma Faye Steward ended up taking a plea agreement for ten years on probation. She did not understand why this had happened and had to plea in order to get back to her 4 children that she was a single mother to. Out of the 27-people arrested for drugs, seven pleaded guilty. Due to the fact that Irma Faye pleaded guilty, she is no longer able to receive government assistance. Irma lost her home and has her children staying with many different people so that they are not on the streets with nowhere to stay. Situation like these that are shown, prove that the justice system is more in it for the money and doesn?t really are if someone is actually guilty of charge or not. Now a days there has been many improvements in the justice systems and many situations are being handled In a more proper manner due to lawyers and prosecutors. I do agree that offenders should be given the time and punishment that they deserve and I also believe that if they are a second time offender that they should be give something twice as hard as that first time. I believe that like the individuals In the video everyone should know exactly what they are getting in trouble for and one should not be arrested without being told what they did to deserve it.

2. In discussion 4 “The Plea”, which aired on Frontline in 2004. This documentary tells the stories of Erma Fay Stewart, Micheal Wells , and Charles Gampero Junior and their experiences with the plea bargain system. Plea bargaining is defined by Webster’s as, ” the negotiation of an agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant whereby the defendant is permitted to plead guilty to a reduced charge.” The 6th Amendment guarantees all American citizens the right to a speedy trial by jury. However, today only 95 percent of all cases resulting in felony convictions never reach a jury because they’re settled through plea bargains. According to Frontline, if all cases that came through the criminal justice system went to trial, the system would collapse. To the Founding Fathers, the critical element in the system was the jury trial, which served not only as a truth-seeking mechanism and a means of achieving fairness, but also as a shield against tyranny (Radkoff, 2014)

Erma Fey Stewart was arrested for drug related charges and put into jail. Erma claimed to be completely innocent and said her court appointed defense attorney “didn’t want to hear it”. When confronted later, Erma’s court appointed lawyer didn’t even remember her, nor could he find any record that he even represented her. According to Frontline, due to high volumes of clients, it’s not unlikely for court appointed lawyers to not even know their names. Finally, after twenty five nights in a jail cell, Erma took her lawyer’s advice and plead guilty to a crime she “didn’t commit” so she could go home to her sick son.

Micheal Wells was arrested in a drug sweep. He was serving the last 4 months of his 10 year probation for another drug related crime. Micheal says that the “probation system sucks and he’ll never take it again” (Frontline, 2004). Micheal explained how he was basically caught in an endless cycle of paying money to the probation office even though he has no money.

Charles Gampero from Brooklyn, Newyork was accused of killing a man outside a bowling ally in 1994 and charged with murder in the second degree. Charles had no previous record and did not know the man who died. Charles admitted to fighting with the victim that night but left him “very much alive” (Frontline, 2004).

This documentary opened my eyes to the corruption used by the plea bargaining system. When you think about the plea bargain, it sounds like a good deal because you’re doing the ‘right thing’ by admitting your guilt and you get rewarded with a reduced sentence or lesser charges. However, the court system these days pressures criminals into taking the plea even though they might not even be guilty because it’s speedier and easier