Frontline: The Plea poster

Episode

Frontline: The Plea

FrontlineSeason 222004-06-17

Overview

Nearly 95 percent of all cases resulting in felony convictions never reach a jury. They are settled through plea bargains in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence. But what are the implications of a system that relies on pleas to expedite justice?

Details

Series
Frontline
Season
Season 22
Episode
Episode 16
Air date
2004-06-17

Episode context

The Plea is Episode 16 in Season 22 of Frontline. It aired on 2004-06-17.

Previous / Next

Episode 15: The Way the Music Died 2004-05-27 | 55 min In "The Way the Music Died," FRONTLINE follows the trajectory of the recording industry from its post-Woodstock heyday in the 1970s and 1980s to what one observer describes as a "hysteria" of mass layoffs and bankruptcy in 2004. The documentary tells its story through the aspirations and experiences of four artists: veteran musician David Crosby, who has seen it all in a career spanning 35 years; songwriter/producer Mark Hudson, a former member of the Hudson Brothers band; Hudson's daughter, Sarah, who is about to release her first single and album; and a new rock band, Velvet Revolver, composed of former members of the rock groups Guns N' Roses and Stone Temple Pilots, whose first album will be released in June.

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