Plea Bargaining to Start in Courts.
The Judiciary has started piloting the\r\npractice called "plea bargaining", which the Hon. Principal Judge, Hon.\r\nJustice Dr. Yorokamu Bamwine, said has benefits for the State, the accused and\r\nsociety. The piloting is being carried out by the Nakawa High Court circuit,\r\nwhich covers Mpigi, Mubende, Entebbe, Kiboga and Nakawa.
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Plea bargaining is an agreement between the accused\r\nand the State, where the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a benefit.\r\n The benefit could be dropping one or more\r\ncharges, reduction of charges to a less serious offence or a recommended particular\r\nsentence. The agreement and its implications must be explained to the accused by\r\na lawyer and the prosecution must take into account the interests of the victim.\r\n
The agreement must not be obtained under\r\nforce, coercion or misrepresentation of facts. The Hon. Judge could reject the\r\nagreement if it, may occasion a miscarriage of justice and once rejected cannot\r\nbe admissible in subsequent trial.
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A total of 260 capital offenders who\r\nhave expressed willingness to enter a plea bargain are charged with different\r\ncapital offences and are being held in Kigo or Luzira prisons. This new arrangement\r\nwill save trial time, money and help decongest prisons.
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Five Hon. Judges and a number of defense\r\nlawyers' on state brief have been chosen and trained specifically for this\r\nproject. After the Nakawa circuit cases, the next session will be in Jinja, where\r\nthere are 800 registered capital offences, then Mbarara which has a similar number,\r\nbefore it spreads across the country.
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Hon. Justice Dr. Bamwine said the\r\nsuspects are not forced to enter a plea bargain, but are guided by both their defense\r\nlawyers and the prosecution after full disclosure of the evidence against them.\r\nHe said the suspects could choose to enter a plea bargain or refrain from it. The\r\nprocess could be initiated by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Inspectorate\r\nof Government (IGG), the accused or their lawyers. It could also be initiated\r\nanytime before a sentence is pronounced.
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The parties would only return to the\r\ncourt to inform the Judge of the development, who then passes a sentence considering\r\nthe terms of the plea bargain. He said the Judiciary would be careful not to allow\r\nthose who want to enter plea bargaining just so they can get out of prison.
Press Brief on the Plea Bargaining Project.
Posted 29th, May 2014
