What Else Could Have Happened...

With the plea bargain, the sun set on the Richards case. Most cases do end this way, especially ones where political pressure might be applied to the major players. However, had Richards held out for a jury verdict, several things could have happened:

  1. Acquittal - The jurors find him unanimously not guilty and he is released.
  2. Guilty - The jurors find him guilty of one or more counts and he is sentenced at a later hearing.
  3. Hung Jury - The jurors cannot agree on a unanimous verdict (which is not required in all states), If this is the case, the prosecution can have the jury polled to see what the "vote" was. It then has the option of either re-trying the case again in front of an entirely new jury, or simply dropping the charges. If the state feels that it has a strong case, it will usually re-try through two or three hung juries; if it does not meet with success, it eventually gives up and drops the charges.

    The penalty for most felonies is either a jail sentence and/or a hefty fine. In first degree murder, the prosecution may opt for the death penalty, thereby turning it into a capital case . The state must decide to do this before the trial begins. If Richards were found guilty of first degree murder, and the state had decided to go for the death penalty, Richards would have the right to a sentencing hearing, before the same jury. Here, the only issue would be whether he would receive life in prison, or the death penalty. Extenuating citcumstances (facts which make the crime more heinous) are weighted against mitigating circumstances (not excuses, but factors that lessen, to some miniscule degree, the severity of the crime). A unanimous verdict is again required for a sentence of death. Should this happen, Richards' case is automatically appealed to the N.J. Supreme Court for a reversal on the conviction or sentence. When this fails, Richards could then attempt to appeal to the federal level. At any point, the N.J. Governor can grant him clemency; that is, commuting his sentence to life imprisonment, or granting him a pardon and allowing him to walk away a free man. Neither are common occurrances. Most penalties of death get held up in this appeals process that some critics say is endless; many states have a great deal of prisoners on death row, but few, if any, executions.

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