Publisher's Synopsis
An offer you can't refuse : how US Federal prosecutors force drug defendants to plead guilty, details how federal prosecutors routinely threaten extraordinarily severe prison sentences to coerce drug defendants into surrendering their right to trial and pleading guilty. Prosecutors charge or threaten to charge offenses with harsh mandatory sentences and mandatory sentencing enhancements. they then offer defendants a much lower sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. In 97 percent of federal drug cases, defendants accept plea bargains. In the rare cases in which defendants insist on going to trial, prosecutors make good on their threats. The average sentence for federal drug offenders convicted after trial was three times longer than for defendants who pled guility. This report is based on numerous interviews with federal prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges, and the review of hundreds of cases. It also includes new statistics de
