ribit,
re: "there are prosecutors out there who use the threat of the death penalty as a way to leverage a guilty plea."
I agree that that is a problem. But they also use the threat of "30 year sentences" to leverage a guilty plea to a lesser, "5 year" charge.
Should deal-making with criminals be ended? I'm undecided but inclined to think yes: Deal-making with criminals who will still be prosecuted should come to an end. (I'm okay with deals that prevent their prosecution.) Prosecuter recommendations and deals should have no impact on the sentencing phase of trials.
And while we're at it, neither should the perpetrator's gender. It makes me sick when I read a story like this one http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43573001/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/four-jailed-after-rapest-tattooed-teens-forehead/ and learn that the women who were every bit as guilty as the men got lighter sentences. Yet they almost always do.
Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months
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