Salespeople understand the attraction of a reduced offer. If you have ever bought something because the ticket says it used to cost x, but now only costs y, you have fallen victim to it.
Buying a flat-screen television you did not need will have limited consequences. Yet, it is not only salespeople that use this tactic. Criminal prosecutors can do it too, and the consequences of failing to understand their ruse will be far-reaching.
Plea deals are more common than you think
The American Civil Liberties Union suggests that plea deals settle over 95% of all criminal cases. Unfortunately, that statistic includes many innocent people. They think they do not have any other choice or that accepting the deal is better than the consequences of not doing so.
Prosecutors design plea deals to get you to say yes, as do stores when trying to sell you things. If you buy a flat-screen TV reduced from $650 to $499, it sounds like a bargain. Yet, do you ever compare $499 to the price of not buying the TV, i.e., $0?
Six months in jail for pleading guilty can seem more attractive than the potential of three years in prison if you don’t. Yet, it is still six months more than if you were to successfully fight the criminal charges and spend no time behind bars.
It is hard to think about the long-term consequences of accepting a plea deal when a prosecutor is pressuring you to take it. It will be even tougher without someone knowledgeable to guide you. A plea deal requires you to admit guilt; therefore, you will end up with a criminal record, regardless of your innocence. It is crucial to understand how a criminal record could ruin your life before making any decision.