Lynn Thoman

Each episode ends with three key takeaways to help us understand the world and maybe even ourselves a little better.

Today, I'm delighted to be here with Judge Jed Rakoff.

He's a senior judge for the famed US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

He is also a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.

As a judge, former prosecutor, and former criminal defense attorney, he brings a very broad and unique perspective.

I'm excited to find out why the innocent plead guilty and the guilty go free, which just so happens to be the title of his new book.

Welcome, Jed.

Congratulations on your book.

And thanks so much for being here today.

So, Jed, why do the innocent plead guilty?

Judge, how do plea bargain sentences compare to trial sentences if a defendant is found guilty?

One of the objectives of the mandatory sentencing that you talked about that was passed on a bipartisan basis by Congress in the 1980s was consistent sentencing.

Did that work?

Did sentencing become more consistent?

Did it become fairer?

That is horrifying.

If you look at the several million people that are in prisons in the United States, can you talk about what their criminal activity they were convicted of was and what the average sentences are?

What do we know about the people in our prisons?

And how do these sentences compare to other countries?

If somebody has drugs, let's say two ounces of marijuana, what kind of sentence would they get in the United States as compared to another country?