B, lawyers can now get to decide what offence they can impose to a defendant. P.B. defies the rule of law! Prosecutors are now higher than the law.
2. Presumption of Innocence.
Section 11(d) of the Constitution states, "Any person charged with an offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal;.
"Plea bargaining circumvents the procedural and substantive safeguards set out to ensure that the truth is discovered. Let us remember, there is a due process of law- the legal ladder of procedures that must be followed in order to help justice be carried out efficiently. There is a process, from the complaint, investigation, determination of probable cause, arrest, preliminary hearing, and then the actual trial so on and so forth. P.B. circumvents this process! WHY? The practice of P.B. skips public marshalling and trial and head towards the conviction of a person right away! Is that justice? The answer is no. How would you convince the judges in this debate, that we should convict a person without the proof of his guilt? Moreover, If you enter a plea bargaining, will you be still protected by the Const. Provision that you are PRESUMED TO BE INNOCENT? My answer is no! because you are presumed to be guilty since you are NEGOTIATING/BARGAINING YOUR SENTENCE ALREADY. IS A PERSON PROVEN GUILTY WITHOUT THE TESTING OF EVIDENCES? Also no! that's why we have court hearings and trials that evaluates evidences. .
Even on an everyday setting, in school! Would you allow your classmate to accuse you of something, and be held accountable for something when your classmate never proved anything against you? MAKE UP YOUR MIND NOW.
PLEA BARGAINING IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
READ WHEN CHALLENGED > Section 7 of our Constitution explicitly states, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.