The case of Demetrius Smith reads like a preposterous legal thriller: dubious arrests, two lying prostitutes, prosecutorial fouls and a judge who backpedaled out of a deal.It also delivers a primer on why defendants often agree to virtually inescapable plea deals for crimes they didn’t commit.ProPublica has spent the past year exploring wrongful convictions and the tools prosecutors use to avoid admitting mistakes, including an arcane deal known as an Alford plea that allows defendants to maintain their innocence while still pleading guilty. Earlier this year, we examined a dozen such cases in Baltimore.
A Dubious Arrest, a Compromised Prosecutor, a Tainted Plea: How One Murder Case Exposes a Broken System
More from NewsMore posts in News »
- Frazzled Health Care Workers – Poor Sleep May Turn Stress Into Poor Mental Health
- Houston Public Schools Taken Over By The State Is About More Than School Improvement
- Focusing On Intervention Instead Of Incarceration Could Change The Biggest Racial Gap In Prisons
- Yes, #OscarsSoWhite – But There Are Still Plenty Of Reasons To Celebrate Contemporary Black Film
- Is The First Step To Reducing A Swollen Prison Population Understanding Mass Incarceration In The US?
Be First to Comment