Question: A lot of letters are sent to Combita from Colombian inmates in the United States, who say that they feel that their human dignity is violated; that is, they feel like they are “objects” to the prosecutors and agents in their case. Is this true?
Answer: This is not true. Agents and prosecutors may be insensitive, but that is due to their own provinciality. I have not seen prosecutors or agents treat defendants like things. However, marshals and corrections officers do, in fact, treat defendants—all defendants—like things.
For example, the marshals may take a defendant to court at six in the morning for a court proceeding that does not begin until four in the afternoon. No one would think twice about the fact that the defendant has to wait ten hours in a cell before seeing a judge. Or a defendant may ask a corrections officer for medical attention, only to have the request ignored. Acts like these seem to be part of the culture.
The greatest virtues a “prisoner” can have are patience and low expectations. Then any act of kindness or efficiency will be a pleasant surprise. But defendants who are out on bail do not have these types of problems. Both agents and prosecutors treat them with respect.
Question: And [the inmates say] that the attorney they hire does nothing more than process paperwork rather than defend, which is why they were hired. What is your opinion regarding this situation?
Answer: Most lawyers defend their clients. But after conscientiously analyzing a case, a lawyer can sincerely believe that the best thing for a defendant to do is plead guilty. If you have legal cancer, the best thing to do is cut out the cancer (plead guilty) and save the patient. Going to trial is not a game of chance. Defendants are never better than their evidence.
If you do not like the deal the government is offering, you can plead guilty to all the charges in the indictment and let the judge sentence you. Since the judge is older and more mature than the prosecutor, you can usually get a lighter sentence than what the prosecutor may offer you. But if you have a judge who is known to give out tough sentences, you may have no choice but to take a plea bargain, even if you do not like it.
I believe you are referring to lawyers who listen patiently to defendants who want to go to trial, and humor them into thinking they support the defendants’ position. But as soon as the lawyers are paid, they scare the hell out of the defendants to get them to plead guilty. Those are the lawyers that give all lawyers a bad reputation.