Federal Authorities Have Too Much Power to Force Defendants to Plead Guilty

Federal prosecutors have any number of tools at their disposal to force a defendant in a federal case to plead guilty.  Prosecutors can manipulate the sentencing guidelines and charging decisions to create a situation whereby the risk of going to trial is far outweighed by the plea bargain that is offered.  The link below is an excellent Op-Ed piece demonstrating this point.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/03/12/tipping_the_scales_of_justice/

Criminal Evidence Much Different Today than Years Past

Here is a very interesting article on the way crimes are solved has changed. There is much less ability to be anonymous in today’s world than there was even a decade ago.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/if-the-son-of-sam-were-on-the-loose-today/?ref=todayspaperPublish Post

Illinois Governor Did the Right thing to Abolish the Death Penalty

Bravo for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. It took a great deal of courage to abolish the death penalty in Illinois, and Governor Quinn's very well reasoned statement regarding his decision should be reviewed by everybody in government. The death penalty has run it's course and proven to be unworkable and unfair. It also costs too much money, and offers society no benefit. Please read this link for a very good Op Ed piece on the matter:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0310-turow-20110310,0,7368692.story