Impossible Choices: Innocent People and Dark Plea Deals

This program explores the difficult situation innocent people are placed in when advocating for their innocence and being offered a plea deal. It examines how clients weigh the options when being offered these plea deals; the impact these deals have; and the legal ethics and ramifications of the plea deals.

A “dark plea” is a plea deal offered during post-conviction litigation in a criminal case. Research has estimated these plea deals are offered in 14% of post-conviction cases, especially where the Defendant has filed a motion for a new trial. These “dark pleas” place a Defendant in an impossible position to choose a plea deal that guarantees release from Pr*son or to choose to continue fighting for exoneration, which places them at the mercy of a court system to prove their innocence.

The client panelists are individuals who have been wrongfully convicted but freed. In this part of the program, the discussion will focus on the client's perspective with the criminal legal system and the difficult position of being offered a plea deal when fighting exoneration. It will include a frank discussion of each client’s experience and stories.

Justice Michael Donnelly of the Supreme Court of Ohio will then join the clients to discuss the legal, constitutional, and statutory authority for plea bargains and how dark pleas are a part of that process. His presentation will include an overview of the primary steps in post-conviction litigation, explain the use of dark pleas and ethical considerations that both prosecutors and defense attorneys should follow, legislation being vetted in Ohio that would impact the use of dark pleas, and the impact that dark pleas have on innocent people and their communities. His perspectives are shaped by his experience as a former prosecutor, trial court judge, and current Ohio Supreme Court Justice.

Host or Publisher The Ohio Innocence Project: u @ YSU