• givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yes. Most studies show blacks commit a majority of the crimes but not 95%

      That logic only works under the assumption everyone that commits a crime is caught…

      Which is incredibly naive.

      You should use “convicted of crimes” not “committed crimes”. And even then, that’s ignoring how our justice system uses insane prison sentences to make people take plea deals. So innocent people are coerced into pleasing guilty to avoid jail.

      • RegularGoose@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        There are literally no valid, trustworthy crime statistics in the US. Police only stop people they want to stop, they more often than not lie in court to secure convictions, public defenders have obscene caseloads that leave them entirely unable to provide a competent, effective defense, and, as you said, defendants are all but forced into shit plea deals for crimes they usually either didn’t commit or shouldn’t be imprisoned for.

        The US justice system isn’t just broken, it’s nearly nonexistent and should be treated as entirely illegitimate.

    • ChrisLicht@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Actually commit, or arrested for, or convicted for? I’m on mobile and can’t dive the PDF, but “commit” sounds like it’s a denominator, not a numerator.

      • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        It breaks down to suspect and arrested.

        Don’t delve into conviction rates. You’ll discover quickly how screwed up our system is. It’s still better than anyone else but it’s bad.

        You’ll see why plea deals should be banned. They abuse the poor since they can’t afford a competent lawyers.

        I personally think plea deals should be banned for that reason. They just allow weak cases to be convicted.

        • ChrisLicht@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I’m not sure that attacking the idea of the plea itself is right. Plea deals are useful in a well-run juridical model.

          Instead, prosecutors should be barred from overcharging as a form of coercion, which is plainly what they often do today. Some combo of state legislators, the state supreme courts, and the ABA should create guardrails for charging decisions.

          Finally, as I understand its history, the broad use of overcharging is a fairly recent development that arose because other parts of our system broke down or were overwhelmed, often because of underfunding and/or political expedience.

          • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            I was being a bit hyperbolic when I said eliminate it but it should be greatly reduced.

            Think of it this way, I am not saying OJ was guilty but if he had not been rich, he would have gone to prison. A poor person would have taken a plea.

            I have had to use a lawyer a few times in my life and it is crazy expensive. Never for a criminal case but for a civil case.

            Sure prosecutors have immunity, even greater than a police officer, they have no fear over charging. We need to remove that immunity and allow them to be sued.

        • RegularGoose@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          It’s still better than anyone else but it’s bad.

          Not even close. The vast majority of wealthy nations have far better justice systems than the US.

            • RegularGoose@sh.itjust.works
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              1 year ago

              Our strength is you have to proved guilty.

              This just simply isn’t true at all. A prosecutor just has to coerce and intimidate you into a plea deal or use unreliable and generally false police testimony to convince a group of average dipshits off the street.