Plea bargaining is provided under the Plea Bargaining Rules 2018. The rules cover situations in which an accused person can bargain for a lesser charge. These can be agreements with the prosecution or the victim. They are recorded in court.
There are two types of prosecutions, private and public.
If it’s private prosecution, the suspect and victim can agree on a plea. The accused will compensate the victim and also testify against other suspects.
There are rules on how one can be compensated rather than pursuing the whole criminal case. The amount compensated is recorded in the plea bargaining agreement. The information cannot be used against the suspect, now a witness, if the process fails.
Plea bargaining can also happen in a public prosecution one is charged in court of law.
Again, the information cannot be used against the person. In this case the Director of Public Prosecutions converts a person who would be a suspect or accused person into a state witness.
The office of DPP weighs all the evidence that has been established against the suspect in the crime. The DPP converts a suspect into a witness to strengthen the state’s case.
The evidence of that person is normally treated with an abundance of caution because he or she has his or her own interests to protect. This is the person who would definitely want to be on the other side.
But the state, for sake of having a strong and credible case, has decided to convert him or her into a witness, rather than be charged as an accused person.
The defense normally has a hard time to delve into the character of that particular state witness. There is a difference between plea bargaining and converting a suspect into a state witness. The plea bargaining rules are fairly new rules and have been effective. It is a good way since article 169 talks about alternative dispute resolution.
The Constitution encourages alternative dispute solving rather than going to court.
The lawyer spoke to the Star