There has been a statistic floating around on the internet that 97% of prison inmates in the US never received a trial. Technically it is true; despite being a constitutional right, trial by jury is extremely rare in the US criminal justice system. But the picture that statistic paints is misleading.
The truth is, going to trial is expensive and risky. Everyone who has been charged with a crime has the option to face trial, but most choose to accept plea deals instead.
What happens when someone gets arrested?
When someone is detained by the police on suspect of committing a crime, there are two options that the arresting officer has. For minor crimes or low risk individuals the police may issue a “release on summons” or “promise to appear”. This means that the person will not be arrested at that time and will not be immediately taken to jail, but they are still being charged with a crime and may still be sentenced to serve time if they are convicted. A “promise to appear” is exactly what it says it is, a promise that the individual will come to court as directed.
For more severe crimes or individuals that may be of higher risk to the community, the police will likely escort the suspect to jail immediately.
If someone is brought to jail, they will typically be seen by a Magistrate within 48 hours to determine whether or not they qualify for bail. The bail hearing has nothing to do with determining the guilt or innocence of an individual. Being released on bail is another form of a promise to appear on the court date.
Those who do not receive bail or cannot afford to pay their bail, will remain in jail, not prison, until their court date.
What is the difference between jail and prison?
Jail is for transience. Jail is where suspects go either prior to trial or post trial if their sentence is less than one year.
Prison is where people go after they have already been convicted if their conviction is greater than 1 year.
How do people get convicted without a trial?
As stated above, only about 3% of prison inmates go to trial. The other 97% accept a plea deal where they agree to waive their right to a trial in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Why do so many people take plea deals?
For most people, plea deals are just a better option. They are less risky and far less expensive. Not only are they often better for the accused, but they are better for the government as well. If a case goes to trial the court room, judge, and prosecuting attorney will be booked for several days for the trial proceedings, meaning nothing else can be taken care of during that time. Also a jury will need to be called up and people will have to take off work to preform jury duty. Overall going to trial is a big expense and a big hassle so the judicial system tries to discourage it when possible.
Trials are expensive
The average cost of a criminal trial, for someone accused of any crime other than murder or manslaughter, is $600,000. Even a ‘simple’ case will typically cost a minimum of $25,000 to go to trial, while a more complicated case can cost over $1 million. The cost of going to trial can financially ruin someone, even if they do win their case.
Plea deals usually result in a lighter sentence
Typically when a person accepts a plea deal they will admit they are guilty of a lesser crime in order to have the charges dropped from a more significant crime that they have been accused of. Since sentencing is based on guidelines, and those guidelines are based on the severity of the crime, being charged with a lesser crime typically means a lighter sentence. Which makes plea deals a safer option for most people.
For example:
Someone was accused of committing crime A and crime B
Crime A carries a sentence of 3-5 years in prison
Crime B carries a sentence of 1-2 years in prison
They are offered a plea deal that says if they admit guilt to crime B, the court will drop charges for crime A
If they accept the plea, then the most they can be sentenced to is 2 years in prison
But, if they do not accept the deal and they decide to go to trial, they could be found guilty of both crime A and crime B. Or just crime A. Or just crime B.
Which means that they could be charged with anywhere from 1-7 years in prison if they are found guilty and regardless of what the jury decides, they will now have to pay for the cost of a trial.
So yes, 97% of prison inmates never receive a trial, but there is a lot more to the story than just one statistic.
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