1st June 1998
Column 16
It has been a while since I have written anything. Sorry about that. I figured I would talk about the justice system, in this one. I have brushed on the topic a few times in the past and was accused of getting away from talking about Death Row. I suppose Death Row might be more interesting to read about, but you have to go through the justice system to get to Death Row, so it is only logical to talk about it. Besides, in the very beginning I said I would be talking about the legal system. You may not think the legal or criminal justice system is of interest to you, but jails and prisons are full of people who thought the same thing. Now they are sitting in a cell, scratching their head and wondering what in the hell happened. After all, this sort of thing is supposed to happen to other people, not to them. It is something that can very easily touch you, or someone that you care about, so it is good to be aware of what goes on.
I will try to be objective in what I say, but since I will be writing about things that I have seen and experienced while going through the system, it won't be easy to always be objective, so excuse me in advance for any lapses I may have. I don't intend to rant and rave about how unfair the system is and I will let you draw you own conclusions. Maybe you will learn something helpful and I sincerely hope that you will never have to deal with the legal system on a personal level.
A Death Penalty trial is different than a regular trial in
many ways, but the process is basically the same. The process
does vary from state to state, but there's much more similarities
than there are differences. No matter what state you are in, if
you are ever arrested and have to deal with the legal system,
never talk to anyone about whatever it is that you are arrested
for. If the police want you to talk to them, 'Just to clear
things up' (as they tend to put it), don't talk to them
except to say that you will only talk to them if you have an
attorney there with you. The police will try to make you feel
like an idiot for wanting a lawyer present 'just to clear up a
few matters'. But the police are not questioning you in order
to help you. They may try to intimidate you, they may try to
trick you into saying things and they may even use force to try
and make you say what they want to hear. Don't say anything until
you have an attorney present. That is the only protection that
you have and you had better use it. One of the biggest mistakes
that people make is to think that if they co-operate; the
authorities will try to help you clear yourself. Well, you are
not there being questioned, because they want to clear you. If
you are innocent then it is even more in your interest to keep
your mouth shut, if you are guilty, then I guess it is even more
in your interest to have an attorney there to represent you.
When you are arrested, they put you in the county jail. The jail is not prison. Prison is where you will be send to if you are convicted of whatever you are arrested for. When you get to the county jail, they do the whole thing, fingerprints, mug shots and all that.
When you are put in the county jail you will usually end up
staying in a dorm. This is where you will stay until you go to
trial. County jails are always overcrowded and you will probably
end up sleeping on the floor until you can get a bed. It is
common to see fights over a bed that has just been vacated. Once
you get into a jail, you will sit and wait until you go to court
for your first appearance and you are formally charged with
whatever it is they arrested you for. This is when the court will
set your bail and tell you how much money you must pay to stay
out of jail until you go to trial, if you can afford it (most
people can't afford to pay bail). The court will want to know if
you can pay for an Attorney and they will question you about your
finances, as well as seeing if you have any property of value
that they can take as payment for having a lawyer represent you.
Since most defendants are what are called 'Indigent Defendants',
the court will appoint a state lawyer to represent you. Then you
will be assigned your next court date and will be sent back to
the county jail to wait for your next court appearance.
When you are waiting in the county jail, you should do
everything you can to prepare for defending yourself. Don't wait
for your lawyer to come and see you, because you probably won't
see them until the next time you go to court, unless you have a
more serious case and a lawyer is specifically assigned to your
case. (As opposed to the duty lawyers that handle the day to day
cases in the courtroom). The chances are that you will have three
or four different lawyers representing you before you start
trial, then shortly before you are to begin your trial, a
specific lawyer will be assigned to represent you during your
trial.
In the county jail, one thing you must be very careful about
is people that seem to be overly interested in you, or in your
case. Some people are always looking for a way out and would
betray their own mother to get out. (It seems that being a snitch
is becoming the way of our time. People will betray anyone for
whatever reason they have justified it in their mind) These
people will try and get you to talk about yourself and your case.
Then they will go to the prosecutor and claim that you told them
all about your case and offer to testify against you in court, if
the prosecutor will make a deal for them. It is usually in the
more serious cases this happens though. The police and
prosecutors also use their own snitches. They arrange for a
snitch to be placed near you in the jail, or will go to court on
the same day as you do. These snitches don't even have to talk to
you, they are put near you for a short time and then are told
what to say, and are provided with the necessary information to
testify in court. They will get on the witness stand and testify
under oath that you told them this and that about your case, when
in reality you have never spoken to this person before. It hasn't
happened to me, but it had been tried. I knew who they (the
snitches) were and had them sign a paper saying that I never
discussed my case with them. I have seen it happen to others, but
I will talk about that later.
I will end it here for this time and hope to be back soon to talk with you some more. Thanks for your time and take good care.
Later,
Dean