Dear FRONTLINE,

"

In the office of the District Attorney in a California county which shall remain nameless hung a sign which read: A Good D.A. Convicts the Guilty. A Great D. A. Convicts the Innocent.

Different realities from ours? Not after your fine program tonight. And now the Chinese dictum that it's equally shameful whether you're a plaintiff or a defendant makes more sense.

Finally, If, as thing appear to me, the lawyering business isn't much more than workfare for the middle classes, it shoud at least be required that they do no harm.

Bailey Jepson
Pacific Palisades, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Thank you for this program. I was a victim of the same system in New York in the 1970's. I was convicted and sentenced for a crime of murder that I did not commit and was given a court appointed atty who was told to settle and plead a lesser charge, or I would get life in prison or death. I got 8 and 1/3 to 25 years. I am still trying to get vindicated and would welcome any help to do so. I was only 17 years old. My parents are elderly now and all they want is my name clear before their death or mine

James Henry
harlem, ga

Dear FRONTLINE,

Your program hit home for me. A young man who we have basically adopted as another child just pleaded out in a case that he is innocent. He will serve at least 9 years for a crime he didn't commit.

The "victim" has recanted everything but the court wouldn't hear any new evidence because he had already accepted the plea. If there is anyone with any advice or knowledge of resources we could try, I would appreciate an email. His girlfriend sold everything he owned and we raised what we could to fight this case but have been told that there isn't a lawyer around who would help him with an appeal for less than $20,000. He's a good young man who had a bright future ahead of him until two years ago. I feel terrible for the people you profiled tonight and I hope they all get the justice they deserve. Unfortunatley, I believe that justice is green in our country. If you have money, you can buy justice.

Carol Heavey
San Bruno, California

Dear FRONTLINE,

Until I was wrongly charged with a crime I had no idea what the nature of the criminal justice system entailed. Frontline's program only confirmed my own experience.

Our justice system is not about justice - it is about politically oriented prosecutors winning cases and judges getting elected. Our jury system is worse. The notion of innocent until proven guilty no longer applies. Thankfully I spent all my life savings and walked free. My heats go out to those with no other choice.

Good job PBS.

Bryan ORourke

Dear FRONTLINE,

What I am most struck by in this documentary is the callousness and indifference of the judicial system to these miscarrages of justice. In the face of evidence there is the literal blind eye.

Perhaps the should be a limit to the amount of time our public officials are allowed to hold their positions, if their sense of justice has become so corrupted.

Hannah MacLaren
Altadena, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Many years ago, a relative was convicted of a murder she didn't commit. Like Kelly Jarrett, she refused to say she was guilty. Luckily, in those days, sentences were shorter. The local newspaper began a campaign: "Does this woman have to confess to a crime she didn't commit before she's paroled?" And so she was freed.

Think of the millions of dollars we spend keeping these people in prison, when we don't have money for good schools or medical care. We don't have money to keep cops on the streets to deter real crime.

As Jarrett's lawyer says, the system stinks. District attorneys are rewarded for winning cases and putting people behind bars, not for being honest and dispensing justice. As Johnnie Cochran says, "The color of justice is green."

Cathy Goodwin
silver city, new mexico

Dear FRONTLINE,

The Frontline program The Plea hit home. I've tried over 300 jury cases in my career and learned a few things: 1] the criminal justice system is incredibly efficient, grinding up every defendant who gets caught up in it; 2] judges who are fair to criminal defendants don't stay on the bench long; & 3] prosecutors are only interested in getting convictions, not ascertaining the truth. Plus a factor in every criminal case is the very real possibilty of police officers committing perjury to convict the defendant.

Your program missed several key points: Driven by the crime-obsessed media, jurors are prone to convict in 8 out of 10 cases, regardless of the evidence. Defense lawyers know that and must plan accordingly or they're really blasted. In fact, rarely does the media offer up a story that tends to show doubt whether the accused is guilty. In many cases the media reports result in the general public being more angry at the lawyer than the accused.

Further, the sheer volume of the caseloads overwhelm most defense counsel, plus they rarely have the resources to wage an effective defense. Wealthy defendants can beat the system, pure and simple. It's truly a system that is designed to wreak havoc on the poor. After a time in the system, a sane person simply wants out at any cost. That includes defendants, and their lawyers.

James Clark
Ardmore, Oklahoma

Dear FRONTLINE,

I work in a Transitional Housing program for homeless women. I have seen the results of innocents who agree to plea bargain. Even out of prison, the conviction follows and heaven help you if you were convicted of a drug offense! Finding jobs, feeding children, even going to school is damned near impossible - if she wasn't a criminal going in, many become criminalized in their marginalization after their release.

Julia Hoskins
Harrisburg, PA

Dear FRONTLINE,

I have been a peace officer for twenty-five years, and I have long sing learned that 'innocent until proven guilty' no longer applies. We now have a 'justice' system which punishes people for asserting their innocence. Meanwhile, the most vicious criminals, who know how to work the system, take advantage of all this. The big losers are those who still believe the myth that truth will prevail in the American legal system which in the hands of people whose moral character is, in many cases, slightly worse than that of the people whom they presume to prosecute and judge. Judges like the old fart who was interviewed for this program should be taken out and publicly hung from the nearest statue of blind Justice.

E.C. Case
Woodville, Mississippi

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a longtime journalist/investigator of wrongful convictions, I find that the greatest value of Ofra Bikel's magnificent report on plea-bargain atrocities is its reminder that the number of innocent persons imprisoned in America is far higher than the public realizes or the media reports or the system admits. Even if "only" one percent of our prison population of somewhat more than two million did not do the crime that put them behind bars, the number of innocents would be some 20,000. This is a supremely conservative figure. My own knowledge of the world of wrongful convictions tells me that five percent--100,000 individuals-- would be more like it (and maybe still on the low side), especially because a justice system that relies so heavily on forced plea bargains has programmed itself for injustice.

Donald Connery
Kent, CT

Dear FRONTLINE,

In abandoning these people, our society has abandoned its humanity. I'm stunned and deeply saddened by these stories. Our country is filled with such violence and hatred for people who are weak, different, odd, poor. Americans revel in their rugged individualism, but what kind of moral society abandons its weakest members like this?

Merrill Morris

Dear FRONTLINE,

The unjustice system clearly needs some basic changes. Are there organizations out there that I can join, volunteer for, or help finance that are attempting to make basic changes in the justice system. I am a retired lawyer, probation officer for juveniles and adults at different times for many years and a concerned citizen who feels that individual effort on the part of innocent individuals is very important but that painting with a broad brush is needed and a higher priority.
My admiration for frontline has almost no bounds. I have many times wanted to kiss the ground walked on by the federal judge in Montgomery, Alabama and the same goes for FRONTLINE. A great public service.

Bill Ballard
Watson, Ok

Dear FRONTLINE,

Although this program is focusing on plea bargains, it expresses much more about how awful our so-called third branch of government has become. Clearly, there are little of the checks and balances that the United States of America form of government claims to have. One quote in the program said that the system stinks, in fact, it is a wild beast out of control. It is broke bad and no one is willing to fix it. This brush is broad enough to include law professors, attorneys, judges and yes, the Supreme Court of the US. It is amazing that when someone has some degree of initiative that they are labled "activist judges". This program is a reflection of just how bankrupt of values our nation really is. Thank you for airing it!

Michael Breisch
Newport News, VA

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a criminal defense attorney this was one of the best t.v. documentries that I ever saw. Great job, Frontline. As an attorney who has stood beside many men, who I knew were innocent, but could not afford to go to trial, this show was very moving, and reminded me of the scared duty which I have every day. Yes, I think after watching this program, maybe going to trial more often is the answer. However, in this post-911 era, a defendant has little chance before many juries, regardless of the mitigating facts and reasonable doubt. The misconduct of the police, the callousness of the judges, and the inconsistencies of witnesses, means little to a generation of citizens who are educationed and fed by our worthless destructive media. Watching this show by PBS gives me hope in knowing that there are others out there who believe that there is a light in the darkness and the darkness shall not overcome it.

vincent sanzone
elizabeth, new jersey

Dear FRONTLINE,

I must admit to some trepidation as I tuned in to Frontline this evening.

My father, John Scholl, represented Miss [ Kelly] Jarrett in the proceeding that lead to her conviction. He died four years ago and I wondered if, or how, he might be depicted. Today, at 46, I am four years older than he was at that time. I remember the murder and my father's demeanor during the trial.

He spoke about it briefly at times and seemed almost haunted by his inability to free her.

Audrey Snow
Vernon, NY