Plea deals aren’t right for every case; instead, the defendant must acknowledge that they committed the crime at the heart of the case. The reason many defendants decide to accept a plea deal is that they want to partially control what penalties they are going to face.
In some cases, this is done by working out a deal for a lesser charge that has less serious penalties than the original charge. In other cases, this has to do with working out a sentencing range with the prosecution that isn’t at the maximum amount the law allows for the conviction.
We understand that this is a difficult position for you to be in. We don’t want you to entertain the idea of a plea deal if you don’t acknowledge that you did do the crime at hand. Some defendants might choose to pursue this option if they know that they did part of the crime but that they feel they have mitigating circumstances that should have an impact on the final outcome of the case.
When we work on your defense, we work with you to determine what goals you have for your case. If your primary goal is keeping the penalties that you have to deal with to a minimum, pursuing a plea deal might be the right option for you. From there, we will determine if the prosecution will allow that to occur and work on your behalf to come to terms that you feel are acceptable for your case.