> The quote begins, "They originally charged me," so I'm guessing some of the charges were dropped? Even then, it comes down to a jury to decide guilt.
This is another deplorable aspect of the US justice system. The vast majority (something like 95%) of convictions are not from jury trials, but from plea bargains. Piling on charges is one way prosecutors force plea bargains on suspects.
It's likely that the prosecutor charged this guy with everything he could find in order to induce him to plea to a lesser charge to avoid the hassle and uncertainty of a trial.
It's surprising that none of the binge-watched documentaries touched on the pervasive practice of plea bargaining. Without it, we'd have far fewer people in prison.
They did, it just slipped my mind. The point of my post was not to criticise the justice system (which, as I said, I have problems with) but to point out that critical thinking is needed when listening to what convicts have to say about their own situations.
This is another deplorable aspect of the US justice system. The vast majority (something like 95%) of convictions are not from jury trials, but from plea bargains. Piling on charges is one way prosecutors force plea bargains on suspects.
It's likely that the prosecutor charged this guy with everything he could find in order to induce him to plea to a lesser charge to avoid the hassle and uncertainty of a trial.