Federal prosecutors essentially force men and women charged with drug crimes to plead guilty using the threat of long sentences, a new report alleges.
Human Rights Watch released a report Thursday titled “An Offer You Can’t Refuse: How US Federal Prosecutors Force Drug Defendants to Plead Guilty,” which argues that prosecutors use America’s harsh sentencing laws to punish defendants who do not accept plea deals.
Ninety-seven percent of federal drug defendants do not go to trial, HRW’s research found. That figure is so high because of what the report calls the “trial penalty,” longer sentences given to individuals who exercise their right to a trial rather than accept a plea offer. Federal drug offenders who are convicted after a trial receive sentences three-times longer than those who accept plea deals, according to the report.
“Going to trial is a right, not a crime,” Jamie Fellner, senior advisor to the U.S. program at Human Rights Watch and author of the report, said in a statement. “But defendants are punished with longer sentences for exercising that right.”
Prosecutors have the power to choose which charges a defendant will face, or whether to pursue tougher sentences based on criteria like prior convictions or crimes involving weapons. Prosecutors may also decide whether to pursue charges that would carry mandatory minimum sentences, one of the main drivers of the exploding federal prison population. Once a defendant is convicted, it is nearly impossible for a judge to get around a mandatory minimum sentence. HRW’s report found that 90% of defendants who take cases to trial are convicted.
