Many Innocent People Take Plea Deals To Avoid the Death Penalty
In order to give an example of an innocent person taking a plea deal copping to a murder in exchange for a reduced sentence, I need first to give you the following background: in yesterday's article Too Many Murder Confessions Are Coerced False Confessions I mentioned that I do not consider a murder confession under police questioning as proof that the person actually committed the crime.
Let me go further: as well I do not consider a murder confession as valid evidence of the crime even if made voluntarily by a person absent any police questioning. Consider the case of Laverne Pavlinac who in 1991 voluntarily confessed that she and her boyfriend killed Taunja Bennett in 1990. After she was convicted of murder, her boyfriend John Sosnovske plead out to a non-death penalty sentence. Both were sentenced to life in prison.
There you have it - a confession from one and a plea deal from the other. They must have been guilty of murder. Or were they? It wasn't until 1995 that they were exonerated when we found out the real culprit was serial killer Keith Jesperson.
Laverne's 'confession' was all a scheme to get her abusive boyfriend in jail and out of her life (1). She later recanted her confession but the DA knew that juries will convict solely on confessions (why would an innocent person confess to something they did not do?) even if later recanted.
As for Laverne's boyfriend, who in truth was absolutely, completely innocent, there was not a single shred of evidence against him other than her recanted confession, why would he take a plea deal? The reality is that the justice system is stacked against those with limited resources and many are forced into taking plea deals especially in death penalty states where taking a chance on a trial can be fatal. That's another reason I am opposed to the death penalty - it forces innocent people to plead out to avoid death as in the instant case.
Many Plea Bargains Trap Innocent People
Almost 90% of all criminal cases are settled by plea bargain (2) which many of my readers may view as a good thing, saving prosecutors time and resources they can spend on other cases. However, many plea deals are made that ensnare innocent people - prosecutors too often will offer very favorable plea bargains to defendants who agree to testify for the state against other defendants, similar to DIRECTV's Refer A Friend program, which brings in more defendants into the justice system. And just as fishing nets catch dolphins as well as tuna, many of those caught in the plea deal nets are innocents as well as the guilty.
In this way prosecutors get more convictions and thus more points toward advancing their careers.
Let me give you an example: A few years ago in Newark a young man was asked by his friends to drive them to a deli. Instead his friends, unbeknownst to him, robbed the place and shot the owner dead. The killers were arrested but being court-wise in plea matters, got reduced sentences by fingering their innocent friend as the trigger man. An assistant prosecutor at the Essex County Prosecutor's Office knew that they were lying, that the poor kid was never in trouble and wasn't knowingly, intentionally, criminally involved in the murder/robbery but since the prosecutor wanted as many convictions under his belt as possible, he forced the innocent boy to take a plea deal for a reduced murder charge or otherwise would get a life sentence if he lost at trial.
With all his friends' accusations against him, what else could he do? [added 02 Feb 2014: and yes the poor boy did indeed have a lawyer who sadly but correctly advised him to take the plea - Bernie]
This is not an isolated case -- I base this on my discussions with many public defenders of hundreds of similar cases, with defense attorneys, and my conversations with more than a thousand convicted felons.
In order to rein in over-zealous prosecutors I believe that an ombudsman should be appointed in each county to oversee cases in which plea deals for reduced sentences involve implicating other people.
ENDNOTES
(1):
Crime Library, Serial Killers Who Surrender
Unwilling to turn himself but coming close to it by leaving messages in men's bathrooms in several states, cross-country trucker Keith Jesperson stated in a letter to the press, "I feel bad, but I will not turn myself in. I am not stupid." Yet he seemed to be rankled by the fact that someone else had taken credit for his first murder in January 1990.
After battering and killing Taunja Bennet, Jesperson pushed her down into a ravine in Columbia Gorge. He was certain it would be a long time before anyone discovered her remains, but in fact she was found that same day. Within a month, the police had a confession, but not from the killer.
Laverne Pavlinac, 57 and a grandmother with no criminal history, reported her boyfriend, John Sosnovske, 43, to the police as the killer. After hours of interrogation, he denied being involved, but Pavlinac insisted he had boasted about the murder, so he was arrested and detained. (This incident is immortalized in a film, The Happy Face Killer
.)
A few weeks later, Pavlinac had a second story: she'd been involved in the killing as well: Sosnovske had forced her to help him dump the body. She even showed the police precisely where the body had been dumped. Since she came within five feet of its position, detectives believed her. But then she changed her story again. She said that she and Sosnovske were arguing and they had the girl in the car. The girl died as they had sex with her, and Pavlinac claimed to feel remorse over the incident. She was tearful as she told the tale and the police put her in jail as an accomplice.
Pavlinac prepared to accept a plea offer for a 10-year sentence, but suddenly claimed that she'd been lying all along. Her "confession" had been a ploy to have Sosnovske jailed to get him out of her life, but the whole thing had escalated beyond her control. However, the case was now going to trial and a jury gave Pavlinac 10 years. Upon hearing that, Sosnovske pleaded no contest in exchange for a life sentence.
(2):
FindLaw, Defense Plea Bargains
As many as 90% of all criminal cases are settled by plea bargain. Why are plea bargains so popular with both prosecutors and defense attorneys? For prosecutors, it means not having to prosecute the case which saves time and resources. For defense attorneys, it means potentially saving their client from more serious charges and jail time. Finally, for defendants, it often means receiving a reduced sentence and resolving the matter quickly
