There is too much injustice in the American and Canadian judicial
systems. Fully 95% of all criminal convictions are the result of plea
deals, and 1 in 15 American's have or will spend time in prison or
jail. That is a tragedy! Something must be done to stem the tide of
corruption and appetite for convictions.
There is a group, SOhopeful International [www.sohopeful.org], which is
an advocacy and political action group working to educate the public
about how the Megan's law registries have been ineffective because the
brush has been painted too broadly and proposing effective, viable and fiscally responsible alternatives- the attention is on all rather
than the ones who really need it, and the really dangerous ones fall
through the cracks, which justifies even more stringent restrictions of
liberty on the majority who are just trying to put their lives in
order. We realize the ridiculous amount of innocents who are put in
prison and want to gather individuals and organizations to collaborate
and unite. I am constantly appalled by the many stories I read from
those who are too frightened and beaten down to get involved and work
for changes. They are afraid of retaliation, and rightly so.
Plea deals are one of the roots of the problem, as well as Public
Defenders who are massively overworked and are merely negotiators they
all exert pressure on the accused to accept a plea. If even 50% of all
those charged with any crime went to trial, the legal system would come
to a grinding halt, because the entire system depends on pleas to keep
the momentum.
The court is just one of several inter-dependent industries that have inherent conflicts of interest:
Legislative Industry includes:
legislators,
staffers,
lobbyists,
PR agents/agencies,
campaign staff,
part-time workers,
volunteers
Must keep making and amending laws to have continued existence.
Trying to close Law libraries to citizens.
NO ONE HAS A GRASP ON ALL THE LAWS, BUT WE NEED STILL MORE LAWS TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU CANNOT DO
Law Enforcement Industry includes:
police,
sheriff,
FBI,
DEA,
DHS,
INS,
parole & probation departments
Must have more and more laws to break to ensure adequate amount of
law-breaking [or innocent] citizens to find, capture and arrest to have
continued existence.
YOU MAY SOON NOT BE ALLOWED TO SEE THE EXISTING LAWS, BUT IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE
Judicial Industry inlcudes:
judges,
lawyers and legal staff,
court staff
Must have more laws made, more laws to break, more citizens to be
charged with breaking the laws to prosecute to have continued
existence.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE INNOCENT - YOU WERE CONVICTED OR PLEAD GUILTY/NOLO CONTENDRE ON ADVICE OF COUNSEL
Penal Industry includes:
Department of Corrections,
guards,
inmate package companies,
food vendors,
companies who contract with states for prison labor.
Must have more laws made, more citizens charged and convicted to punish to have continued existence.
IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT YOU SERVED YOUR TIME - YOU STILL BELONG TO THE STATE
-or-
YOU ARE DAMAGED, YOU NEED US TO HEAL YOU AND TELL YOU WHAT TO THINK AND DO
Testing/Treatment/Therapy Industry includes:
polygraphers,
therapists,
labs,
counselors,
treatment facilities [committment centers or mental institutions]
Must have more laws, more citizens convicted and punished, their
families ripped apart or kept apart - children growing up fatherless
and court-mandated testing/treatment contracts to have more patients to
have
continued existence.
All of these industries have massive bureaucracies except for the
Testing/Treatment/Therapy category, although they do have professional
associations and lobbyists.
There is no -ONE- cause or one root to attach onto, but understanding
the interplay between valid and needed areas of government authority is
paramount to being able to view the myriad social ills within the
bigger picture and devising any semblence of workable solutions.
What is needed are comprehensive changes.
For example, therapy should be completely independent of the law enforcement, courts or parole/probation departments.
Paid expert witness practices should be halted. Plea deal practices must be eradicated.
Lobbying by public agencies using taxpayer's money must cease.
Real studies by independent organizations/associations must be
conducted and sound scientific methods must be used to study proposed
methods/practices for legislation. [Evidence-based programs]
More effort must be put into rehabilitating our incarcerated citizens
and reuniting families as opposed to the current revolving-door/vicious
cycle in place now.
Carolyn Ferguson
Executive Director
SOhopeful International, Inc.
www.sohopeful.org
Resource Library: www.sohopeful.org/forum
International HQ snail mail address:
1900 NE 181st Avenue, Suite 111
Portland OR 97230 USA
212-714-7061
» left by Bill from IL (4 years 211 days ago.)
The really scary thing about this is that it is all too true. America better wake up soon or many more of us, or should I say, you, will be waking up on the other side of the cell door. Respond to this comment
» left by Susan from Mesa, AZ (4 years 211 days ago.)
It would be easier to read if it was in paragraph form rather than all in one paragraph. Respond to this comment
» left by Mark from Washington DC (4 years 55 days ago.)
Sad but true story...The US judicial system has and is currently failing in its purpose. Its purpose Respond to this comment
» left by Anonymous (3 years 74 days ago.)
I was convinced to plead guilty to a crime that I wasnt sure was a crime. Now the appellate court has ruled in another case that what I did was not a crime. Lawyers continue to tell me I cannot appeal a guilty plea! The problem with our judicial system is that there is no mechanism for fixing mistakes. Respond to this comment
Sure there are many people who may be pressured into a plea by being confused as to whether or not a mistake they made was indeed a crime, or perhaps they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The problem I see with the statements above is that those that are actually guilty of crimes will use these arguments as a shield. Our government is definitely not perfect, and in some ways even corrupt, but to make such a bold blanket statement is a dangerous thing.
If you were accused of say sexually assualting a child which does not neccessary mean you raped them it could simply mean in some states that you touched them inappropriately and that child's parents can automatically have all school and medical records sealed to protect the child's innocence on advice of the DA... Making it a he said she said- how would you defend yourself? NO witness on either side...in these instances the child doesn't need them. Would you take a no contest (nolo contende) plea bargain where you could possibly be out it 3-5 or face 30 years in prison? Thousands of people mostly men do for just this reason. Prosectuing attorneys no longer have to fully prove anything. They just have to scare you into it, you may a well be a Salem Witch. Respond to this comment
Many valid points, but one glaring strategic omission: The news media has perpetuated this witch hunt, and consequent public perception that has fueled the broad-stroke blood-lust for anyone labeled "sex offender." Lazy journalism (always an easy story,) the "Oprahs" of the world with personal axes to grind, etc., have whipped the masses into the fervor that has generated most of what you speak of. Change will only come through public education, which is virtually impossible to accurately achieve, due to conflicting and insufficient research. Or, the hard way, as it seems now, when enough families and individuals are violated, make their voices heard, and force lawmakers to revamp the existing oxymoron we call the criminal justice system. Steve... Phoenix
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