Criminals tried without trial: Will the guilty plea soon be extended?
The so-called "plea bargain" procedure could be extended. The principle is that the accused admits the facts and negotiates the sentence. This is currently possible for misdemeanors. Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin would like to apply it to felonies as well.
It's a phrase we hear mostly in English, in movies or in real life: pleading guilty for the most sordid cases, murders, rapes. The American-style guilty plea could soon be used in France. This is the new proposal from the Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin . In a letter sent to the magistrate, he writes: "I propose to immediately initiate consultations on the creation of a procedure for admission of guilt in criminal matters."
In France, since 2004, it has been possible to plead guilty, but only for minor offenses punishable by less than five years in prison. The prosecutor then proposes a sentence that the defendant chooses whether or not to accept. Around 100,000 such procedures are used each year, mainly in cases of driving without a license or participating in riots.
Watch the full report in the video above.
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