The Fall of an Angel

Book excerpt: The Fall of an Angel tells about how the United States justice department uses the charge of conspiracy to put anyone they want into federal prison without any physical evidence at all. The United States is the only country in the world that charges its citizens with conspiracy. This book is a true story that illustrates how the government can breach plea agreements and get away with it. Billy Leland plead guilty, entering a plea agreement with the federal prosecutor. The plea agreement stated that the government would give Billy a ten-year prison sentence and leave his son alone. But when he got to the sentencing phase the judge sentenced Billy to a term of twenty-one years and five years of probation. Billy agreed to plead guilty to some crimes that he didn't commit because the prosecutor told Billy that if he didn't plead guilty to everything in the indictment that he was going to arrest Billy's twenty-two-year-old son. This book illustrates how the federal justice system coerces defendants into guilty pleas. About 97 percent of the federal defendants plead guilty because of this reason. Out of the 3 percent of the defendants that go to trial, only 1 percent win their cases. The Fall of an Angel will open your eyes to the federal justice system.