Danny Savalos
Appearances
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Hi, Andrea.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Yes, and there are actually some other pleas that are much more rare, and those are the Alford plea and the no contest or no lo contendere plea. So what is the difference between the two? In a no contest plea, you're basically not pleading guilty. You're not pleading anything, and you're sort of going limp and allowing the government or the court to find you guilty.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
In an Alford plea, the defendant is pleading guilty, but but maintaining their innocence. And they enter an Alford plea because they believe in their heart of hearts they're innocent, but the evidence is just so overwhelming.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Yeah, for Peterson, he'd been convicted of murdering his wife, Kathleen, in 2003. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2011, a new trial is ordered after a judge vacates his conviction. And then in 2017, he takes an Alford plea instead of going to face a second trial. So you can see the benefit. to the state is that they get their guilty verdict.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
He's sentenced to time served. He's able to leave prison. And he can tell himself that the nature of my plea was that I am innocent, even though as far as the government and the paperwork and the courts are concerned, I am guilty.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Yeah, Pam Hopp had entered an Alford plea to avoid the death penalty.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Absolutely. There is a real world consequence of pleading no contest because you can later on dispute your liability if you're sued in civil court for the same conduct. That is not the case with an Alford plea. You're essentially foreclosed from even arguing against your guilt or liability in a later court proceeding.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
But other than that, there really isn't a whole lot that differentiates either an Alford plea or a no contest plea from a straight up guilty plea.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Yes. For the most part, you'll go to sentencing. You will be sentenced. And in fact, you might get a worse sentence because you haven't accepted responsibility. And one of the key factors in sentencing at the state and federal level is whether or not the defendant is accepting responsibility after they pleaded guilty.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Yeah, you know, we've all sort of grown up with the idea of plea bargaining, but this is not something that courts are required to accept. And the federal rules, for example, expressly disfavor the idea of an Alford plea. Many judges, many courts, many states will not allow them. They are controversial judges.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Because for people like victims' families who come to court, they want to see someone take accountability for their actions. It's understandable that they're frustrated because the person is not taking responsibility, even though they may be, at least on paper, pleading guilty.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
It's one of the most terrifying things for me. And I'm the attorney. I don't even have to make the choice. I have to deliver those options to a client, go to trial where the evidence is very strong, spend a lot of money. And then at the end, you roll the dice. And if you're convicted, you will get a much worse sentence than if you plead guilty and enter into a plea bargain.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Absolutely.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Thank you.
Dateline NBC
Verdict in the pharmacist poisoning trial. A deadly love triangle in paradise? And Bryan Kohberger is back in court.
Many judges, many courts, many states will not allow Alford pleas. They are controversial.