محکومیت خودخواسته: اخلاق اعتراف به گناه

This book addresses the fundamental ethical and legal aspects, penal consequences, and social context arising from a citizen's acceptance of guilt. The focus is upon sentencing people who have pleaded guilty; in short, post-adjudication, rather than issues arising from discussions in the pretrial phase of the criminal process. The vast majority of defendants across all common law jurisdictions plead guilty and as a result receive a reduced sentence. Concessions by a defendant attract more lenient State punishment in all western legal systems. The concession is significant: At a stroke, a guilty plea relieves the State of the burden of proving the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and in open court. Plea-based sentencing has become even more visible in recent years. The book provides insightful commentary on the following questions: - If an individual voluntarily accepts guilt, should the State receive this plea without further investigation or any disinterested adjudication? - Is it ethically acceptable to allow suspects and defendants, to self-convict in this manner, without independent confirmation and evidence to support a conviction? - If it is acceptable, what is the appropriate State response to such offenders? - If the defendant is detained pretrial, the ability to secure release in return for a plea may be particularly enticing. Might it be too enticing, resulting in wrongful convictions? Acknowledgements Contents Contributors 1. The Ethics of Pleading Guilty and the State Response to Self-convicting Offenders I. Introduction II. The Context III. The Potential Adverse Consequences of Plea-based Sentence Reductions IV. Conclusion V. Overview of this Volume References 2. When Should We Plead Guilty? I. Two Scenarios II. Pleading Guilty in a Decent System7 III. Pleading Not Guilty in a Decent System IV. Pleading in a (Relative) Dystopia V. Conclusion References 3. Guilty Plea Sentencing Discounts and Retributivism I. Introduction II. Guilty Plea Discounts and Sentencing Disparity III. Guilty Plea Discounts and the Punishment of Innocents IV. The Overall Retributivist Assessment of Discounts V. Conclusion References 4. Guilty Pleas, Sentence Reductions, and Non-punishment of the Innocent I. Introduction II. The Prohibition on Punishment of the Innocent III. Criminal Trials, Guilty Pleas and Not Punishing the Innocent IV. Objections and Responses V. Conclusion References 5. Rewarding Virtue: An Ethical Defence of Plea-based Sentence Reductions I. Introduction II. An Ethical Defence of Plea-based Sentence Reductions III. Evaluating Reform Proposals IV. Criteria for Self-conviction: A Model Regime V. Conclusion References 6. The Limited Moral Relevance of Pleas and Verdicts I. Introduction II. Traditional Consequentialist and Retributivist Perspectives III. Communicative Perspectives IV. Conclusion References 7. The Guilty Plea and Self-respect I. Introduction II. Thinking Ethically about the Guilty Plea III. The Guilty Plea in England and Wales IV. Self-respect: An Interpretive Framework V. Pleading Guilty: Conflicting Interpretations VI. Reimagining the Guilty Plea VII. The Limits of Self-respect VIII. Conclusion References 8. Why Should Guilty Pleas Matter? I. Introduction II. The Problem with Plea Bargaining III. A Plea for an Alternative: The English Discount IV. Do Guilty Plea Discounts Bargain Away Innocence? V. Are Sentencing Discounts Justified Only Instrumentally? VI. How Much of a Discount Is Too Much? VII. Conclusion References 9. Victim-related Assumptions Underlying Plea-based Sentence Reductions: A Communicative and Experiential Framework I. Introduction II. The Underlying Victim-related Assumptions Around Plea-based Sentence Reduction: Desert Based or Harm Reductionist/Cathartic? III. A Lack of Contextualised and Verified Assumptions IV. A Communicative and Experiential Framework for Clarifying and Contextualising Victim-related Assumptions about Plea-based Sentence Reduction V. Conclusion References 10. Plea-based Sentence Reductions: Legal Assumptions and Empirical Realities I. Introduction: Masking Plea Complexity II. Exploring the Assumptions III. Case Studies: England and Wales and the United States IV. Conclusion: Taking Constraint on Choice Seriously References 11. Plea Negotiations and Mitigation I. Introduction II. Processes of Plea Negotiation III. Guilty Pleas and Mitigation IV. Taking Stock of the Cumulative Impact on Sentencing Outcome of Early Plea, Plea Negotiations, and Mitigation V. What Is To Be Done? References 12. Guilty Pleas, Fools' Bargains, and Wonderful Justice I. Overview II. From Owning Up to Pleading Down III. The Adversarial and the Inquisitorial IV. Comfort in Fibs, or On Fake Histories V. Institutionalising Vulnerability VI. Vulnerability Unleashed: The Colour of Justice References Index