If you are facing a criminal charge, you can plead guilty or not guilty. When you plead guilty, you acknowledge the facts you are accused of. Before you plead guilty, you can negotiate with the prosecutor, so you can get a more lenient sentence. Experienced criminal defense attorneys Oklahoma City can help you determine whether or not pleasing guilty is in your best interest.
Avoiding Trial
If you want to avoid going to trial, you can decide to plead guilty. This makes sense if there is overwhelming evidence against you. In this case, you acknowledge your responsibility in court and agree to get a sentence without appearing in a trial. No matter the charges you are facing, you need a reliable defense attorney to help you make the right decision.
Negotiating with Prosecutors
You can negotiate your sentence with the prosecutor to get a less serious sentence than what you might receive after a trial. In general, the prosecutor agrees to negotiate to make sure you are punished for your action, which is not guaranteed when a trial occurs.
Sometimes, It Depends
While pleading guilty is worth it sometimes, the prosecutor should follow rules before they accept an agreement with you. For instance, they may agree to accuse you of a less severe crime than the one you were initially accused of. But the accusation should still correspond to the criminal offense. For instance, the prosecutor could charge you with simple theft instead of robbery if they have difficulty proving violence or threats in the circumstances.
Benefits and Risks of Pleading Guilty
If you plead guilty, you face your case head-on and resolve it as quickly as possible. Also, you decrease legal expenses since you don’t go to trial. You avoid jury or plea bargain with the prosecutor to minimize your sentence if your case went to trial.
Meanwhile, there are risks of pleading guilty. For instance, you could go to jail and serve time even if you are innocent. You won’t be able to prepare a strong defense and spend valuable time with your loved ones before you go to jail. Because of statutory minimum sentences that cannot be avoided, you still spend time in jail if you plead guilty.
If you fail to reach a guilty plea agreement with the prosecutor, you have to stand trial. But you will have a better chance at reaching an agreement with the prosecutor if you have a defense attorney representing you.
