Why Should Guilty Pleas Matter?

Brooks, Thom

Abstract

Most offenders plead guilty without a trial. Their guilty plea typically earns a reduced punishment. It raises the issue of why should guilty pleas matter. This chapter considers the use of plea bargaining in the United States and guilty plea discounts in England and Wales. While the former is found deeply problematic, a limited defence of the latter is made. Offenders should normally receive discounted punishment and for more than instrumental reasons. However, there must be more robust safeguards in place to ensure greater consistency and fairness for the use of guilty plea reductions to be justified more substantially.

Citation

Brooks, T. (2023). Why Should Guilty Pleas Matter?. In J. V. Roberts, & J. Ryberg (Eds.), Sentencing the Self-Convicted: The Ethics of Pleading Guilty (127-150). Hart Publishing

• Online Publication Date: Apr 5, 2023
• Publication Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Deposit Date: Apr 5, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 20, 2024
• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Pages: 127-150
• Book Title: Sentencing the Self-Convicted: The Ethics of Pleading Guilty
• ISBN: 9781509957439
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1645457
• Publisher URL: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/sentencing-the-selfconvicted-9781509957439/
• Contract Date: Apr 1, 2022