Loads of memorable felony justice tales revolve across the drama and morbid glamor related to the jury trial. A brand new podcast from Lemonada Media, Blind Plea, as an alternative focuses on the plea discount—a much less fascinating however way more widespread judicial expertise.
The collection tells the story of Deven Gray, who shot her abusive boyfriend after he was allegedly violent one night time of their rural Alabama trailer house. Listeners hear about their fraught relationship, her failed “stand your ground” listening to, her conviction, and her imprisonment.
On the core of the podcast is Gray choosing a “blind plea”—a uncommon kind of deal the place the defendant pleads responsible with out realizing the punishment. “In America, who has the right to self defense and a fair trial?” the collection goals to ask.
Sadly, it by no means solutions the second a part of that query. Partly that is as a result of Gray’s plea deal finally ends up a puzzlingly small a part of the narrative. Nevertheless it’s additionally as a result of, in actuality, the overwhelming majority of defendants by no means go to trial, realizing they’re going to face a “trial penalty” and obtain extra time, if convicted, for exercising their Sixth Modification proper. This is able to have been a wealthy space to interrogate, particularly for a podcast named after a plea discount, however that angle finally ends up a missed alternative.
Whereas host Liz Flock facilities herself an excessive amount of within the narrative, she spins a compelling collection about generational abuse and the significance of a sturdy, nondiscriminatory proper to self-defense—each exterior court docket and inside it.