A September 28, 2011 article in Reentry Central, posted with permission from Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) slammed the practice of prosecutors giving defendants “an offer they can’t refuse.” Prosecutors have enormous power, and they use it to their advantage. The term “trial penalty” has made its way into the American vocabulary because it has become so common for prosecutors to threaten defendants with severe sentences if a defendant insists on going to trial and doesn’t take the prosecutor’s offer
The FAMM article quotes Paul Cassell who used to be a federal judge and prosecutor. “Judges have lost discretion, and that discretion has accumulated in the hands of prosecutors, who now have the ultimate ability to shape the outcome…With mandatory minimums and other sentencing enhancements out there, prosecutors can often dictate the sentence that will be imposed.” click here to go to website
Angela J. Davis revisits the same premise that prosecutors have too much power and the result is a criminal justice system that can be corrupted and unjust.
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