Wrongful convictions plague the U.S. criminal justice system, official says. What do you think?

Paul Craig Roberts, a noted conservative, wrote this about the U.S. criminal justice system: The wrongful conviction rate is extremely high. Hardly any of the convicted have had a jury trial. More than 95% of all felony cases are settled with a plea bargain. Before jumping to the conclusion that an innocent person would not admit guilt, be aware of how the process works. Any defendant who stands trial faces more severe penalties if found guilty than if he agrees to a plea bargain. Prosecutors don鈥檛 like trials because they are time consuming and a lot of work. To discourage trials, prosecutors offer defendants reduced charges and lighter sentences than would result from a jury conviction. In the event a defendant insists upon his innocence, prosecutors pile on charges until defendant's lawyer %26 family convince him/her a jury is likely to give the prosecutor a conviction on at least one of the many charges and that the penalty will be greater than a negotiated plea.
Answer:
We see this even more clearly today after the recent happenings surrounding the Duke rape case.
great post!

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I have no doubt about it. But not for the reasons you state. Having sat on a couple of juries, I can tell you that I would not care to be at the mercy of a jury. Some of the people in the jury pools I've been in look like refugees from the home for the mentally retarded. I wouldn't be surprise to find out that that is where they were rounded up from. You know, my 10 year old once got a jury summons. I kept his ID badge as a souvenir after I sent them a blistering letter. Truth be told, he probably would have done a better job than some of the characters I've been thrown in with.

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Oh, I get it. it's not like anybody ever did a crime, it;s just the system thant's wrong???

If someone isso damn innocent, than why ishe afraid to thake a chance with a jury instead of plea bargaining??