Fucking how?
“Not guilty” doesn’t necessarily mean “innocent”. Often it just means “not confessing”, ie the prosecution has to go through the motions to prove he’s guilty.
Which usually means a harsher sentence.
Only if a better offer was made, which seems unlikely in a high profile murder case like this.
The defendant has nothing to lose fighting the charge.
Insanity? He’s gonna blame Glenn Beck. /s
Incorrect.
You’re describing ‘no contest.’
No, “No contest” is functionally identical to “Guilty”.
No it’s not.
It’s functionally identical to what you thought ‘not guilty’ was.
If you plead “no contest”, the prosecution does not have to prove your guilt and the court will proceed to sentencing just as if you had pleaded “guilty”. Functionally, it is identical to a guilty plea.
no contest: A plea by a criminal defendant that they will not contest a charge. A no contest plea does not expressly admit guilt, but nonetheless waives the right to a trial and authorizes the court to treat the criminal defendant as if they were guilty for purposes of sentencing.
Per your article:
A plea by a criminal defendant that they will not contest a charge.
Your original comment:
“Not guilty” doesn’t necessarily mean “innocent”. Often it just means “not confessing”
“Not guilty” means you are contesting the charges. No contest means you’re not confessing and not contesting the charges.
the prosecution has to go through the motions to prove he’s guilty.
This is only true if the defendant contests the charges. “Not confessing” and “contesting” are two different things.
“Not confessing” and “not contesting” are different things. So, as I originally said, someone who doesn’t want to confess can still plead not guilty. Which, as I said, has a completely different function than pleading no contest.
LIke this:
Prosecutor: “The defendant is charged with murder.”
Judge: “How do you plead?”
Defendant: “Not guilty, your honor.”
Judge: “Okay, the trial will begin on…”In the US justice system the defendant is presumed innocent until they either plead guilty or the prosecution proves that they are guilty. That’s just how it works.
Pleading is essentially asking the defendant, “did you do it?”
Edit for those who want to skip the comment chain:
“Did you do it?”
Yes == Guilty
No == Not Guilty
Neither == No contest
Not exactly. It’s more like asking the defendant, “Do we have to prove you are guilty, or are you going to save us the effort?”
You are free to answer “Not guilty” even if you did it. It doesn’t mean “I’m innocent”, it means “I’m not admitting guilt”. In other words, “Prove it”.
Close, it means - “I’m not admitting guilt under these specific circumstances.” They could be working out a plea deal with the prosecution for a specific sentence, or a dozen other things up to, and including the “prove it” gamble.
Conservatism is a plague of cruelty and death that is long overdue for a cure.
Please teach your children why it is inappropriate to keep relationships with conservatives.
Hoping for at least one racist in the jury.