united-states criminal-law
Could a prosecutor agree to allow a defendant to plead guilty to a crime they knew they had not committed, per this &quot;Law and Order: SVU&quot; episode?
<p>In the 9th episode of series 15 of &quot;Law and Order: SVU&quot;, a serial rapist offers to plead guilty to a rape which he did not commit, while refusing to plead guilty to a series of rapes which he actually did commit (the reasons for this are complex and irrelevant to the question).</p>
<p>The prosecutor and police seriously consider accepting his offer, even though they know he didn't commit the crime he wants to confess to, because they don't think they can prove the crimes he actually did commit.  This doesn't sound to me like something which would be legal.  Could a prosecutor really agree to a plea bargain deal which would involve the defendant confessing to something which the prosecutor knows they didn't do?</p>
<p>I know it's TV, but &quot;Law and Order&quot; has a reputation for being realistic TV.</p>

<p>Such things are in fact legal in some US jurisdictions, as part of plea bargains. In fact such pleas are not uncommon. More usual is the case where a person pleads guilty to a lesser crime, so as to qualify for a lower sentence, when all involved know that the lesser crime was not committed by anyone. It is simply a device to get a compromise sentence and avoid a trial.</p>
<p>In some jurisdictions the Judge, in the course of accepting a guilty plea, requires that the accused admit specific facts that form a minimal legal basis for conviction of the crime pled to. In others no such admission is made. But even where such an admission is made, the truth of such an admission is not usually checked. The Judge will generally make sure that the accused understands the effect of a guilty plea, the rights given up by such a plea, and the possible range of sentences that will result. If the Judge believes that the plea constitutes a miscarriage of justice, for example that a totally innocent person is yielding to improper pressure from the prosecutor, the Judge can refuse the plea, but this is very rare in practice.</p>

<p>Notionally, guilty pleas should only be accepted for crimes which the defendant actually committed, and in fact knowingly doing otherwise is a crime.</p>
<p>Realistically, the prosecutor rarely cares about anything other than getting a win, and the rare cases involve pity for the victim/family, where the wrong person being convicted might make them feel better as long as they believe it is the right person.</p>
<p>Also in the real world prosecutors make up evidence and send people to jail for extended periods of time and not much happens: <a href="http://www.allgov.com/news/controversies/prosecutor-gets-10-days-in-jail-to-make-up-for-sending-innocent-man-to-prison-for-25-years-131110?news=851619" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.allgov.com/news/controversies/prosecutor-gets-10-days-in-jail-to-make-up-for-sending-innocent-man-to-prison-for-25-years-131110?news=851619</a></p>
