Agree 100%. And I think first time offenders with autism should be offered diversion.

Well said. To be clear, 95-98% of cases end in a plea deal and there is a trial tax. If you take a case to trial you will get maxed out sentencing and additional charges.

Dr.
For your understanding, the majority of the cases never make it to trial, there is no jury. They settle on plea deals that force the person to plead guilty, even if they are not. Prosecutors threaten the person with very long prison sentences, then offer them a much different plea deal of months or even probation only in exchange for a guilty plea and lifetime registration. There was a recent case in which a young man was offered 36 months if he plead guilty, but instead, he maintained his innocence and went to trial where he lost and received life without parole. Or what about the juvenile who committed an offense at age 12 due to curiosity or immaturity, and at age 18 was placed on the public Registry for life? There was no jury there. Or the mother on the Registry because she supported the romance of her 14 yr old daughter and 21 year old boyfriend. Or the couple having sex under a blanket on the beach. All on the Florida Registry for life. Does that make you feel safe, or afraid that your loved one could land on the Registry for actions that were not intended to be criminal or harm a child.

Oops, I should have said that only 1.8% of those in prison were convicted by a fact finder.

In addition to displaying your lack of understanding of how the criminal justice system functions, your statement applies to only a small segment of persons convicted of a crime. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 97% of accusations are never resolved by a jury but result in a plea. Of the 3% that go to trial, the government wins about 60%. So only about 1.8% of the accused ever present their case to a fact finder, i.e. a judge or a jury. Jury trials may be a constitutional right, but they definitely clog the meat grinder, and always result in very harsh sentences. This is somewhat jokingly referred to as “the trial penalty.”

It is not hyperbole to state that while a judge controls the courtroom, prosecutors control the outcome. Prosecutors have extraordinary power, access to large amounts of taxpayer money, and routinely arrange indictments based on thin, or in some cases, contradictory evidence. They determine what the grand jury hears and, as the old expression goes, can indict a ham sandwich. Spurious charges are used as leverage to intimidate the accused into signing a plea agreement. Prosecutors face no consequences for weak or bogus charges because they can always agree to dismiss them during plea bargaining as a “benefit” to the accused in order to tidy up the plea contract. Since a judge is specifically barred from participating in plea negotiations, she will never see how the sausage is made.

Dr., that is just a glimpse into how the criminal justice system actually works.

By that notion you are saying that not a single innocent person has been imprisoned so you are already wrong.

In Florida, a simple accusation gets you put away, no evidence necessary.

Mr. Dorsett,

Do you have autism? I ask because it is a completely different world for someone who has autism, specifically when it comes to social norms, boundaries, and interactions. Don’t be so quick to dismiss people.

The only problem is that a jury is automatically tainted when they splash your name all over the news and call you a sex predator even before you see a courtroom. That’s how Florida works. Plus, this is the good ole boy south and your guilty until proven innocent especially in sex crimes cases. Then the prosecuting attorney throughout the trial tells the jury your a sex predator and if the defense objects the biased judges over rule it or pauses the trial,has the jury leaves, and scolds the defendant for having any type of reaction to the accusations. They do anything here to get a conviction so they can get paid by the federal ICAC grant. And it works because they play on the emotions of normal people who are told that your a monster