This very seemingly simple question has a quite complex answer. Unbeknown to many outside of the judicial system, this phenomenon occurs much more often than one would think. This holds ever so true even more for the offender or suspected offender that cannot afford a good attorney. A court "appointed" attorney is a court "paid" attorney. Now, if you couple this idea with a person who may already have any kind of criminal record, you have a recipe for many people being put behind bars on false pretenses.

Question: It seems far-fetched that someone would voluntarily ruin their life because of a terrible lawyer, is there more to it?

Answer: Yes there is.

Many times, the terror begins in the 'inTERRORgation' room. This is where investigators use all kinds of physical and psychological tortures to coerce(force, trick) a person into confessing to a crime they didn't commit or not even guilty of being an accessory. Often times, just as depicted on the detective shows that come on television, the interrogation process is for the most part the same just much more harsh. An interrogation may last three to four days for hours on end and the suspect is kept up and deprived of sleep, food, and bathroom breaks. The investigators rotate out and are well rested and keep reminding the suspect of all the time they are facing. They ask the same questions over and over. All it takes is one inconsistent answer and its all but over for the suspect.

For example,"What time did you leave the party?" If the suspect repeatedly says 10:15, they will keep him/her up for hours on end for days. Remember, the may have allowed the suspect a couple of hours of sleep here and there over the last two few days. Meanwhile, they are bringing well rested interrogators in like a relay team. The suspect is in an often cold, uncomfortable room, sitting on a steel chair. They will keep asking, "Are you sure it was 10:15, are you sure it wasn't 10:45? If you are deprived of sleep, you may slip up and say, "Maybe it could have been 10:45." They will never let you live that down and say you lied to us. "You said you left at 10:15, now you're saying 10:45, you know you just f---ed up right?" It's pretty much all down hill from there. Next question is, "What else have you lied about?"

I think the reader should have a better sense of how these interrogation techniques can get a confession from someone, even if they are innocent by now. I strongly suggest that everyone has a lawyer on retention that will have your best interest at hand to protect your rights from the beginning of your arrest, be it false or not, this is very important.

Question: Is there more?

Answer: Sadly enough, yes there is.

The reasoning behind the plea agreement is as such: The "offender"is told if he/she takes responsibility for their crime and owns up to it, they won't be punished as harshly. On the other hand they are told if you don't own up to your crime and make the State waste time and money going to trial and you(WILL PROBABLY LOSE LOOKING AT THE EVIDENCE, KNOW WHAT WE MEAN) lose, we will give you a more harsh punishment.

As stated earlier, a court "appointed" lawyer, is a court "paid" lawyer who does what he/she is told by the court. This is a very important component of the Corrections Corporation of America (Prison Industrial Complex) system. No matter what happens to the person being tried, the court appointed lawyer gets paid regardless. It is similar to a stock broker who gets paid whether your investments that he or she recommended you to take in the first place win, lose, or break even. With this reward system in place, human nature takes over. So how many will really fight for you, knowing they will get paid whether you got to jail or not? Ultimately, the Corrections Corporation of America (Prison Industrial Complex) needs bodies to fill the cells whether they are innocent or not.

Understand, that these statistics go up even more for minority males in the low-income bracket, especially those from crime ridden areas. More and more, stories are being brought to light about men in the low-income, minority demographic being exonerated of crimes by way of DNA evidence. There are many cases that have been recorded that show a rash of Negroid Men having been arrested from no evidence and not even fitting the description of the eye witness accounts. It's basically, "An Any Old Low-Income Man Will Do Attitude."

A study undertaken by the Innocence Project on April 14, 2009, revealed some eye-opening results. The first exoneration by way of DNA evidence happened in 1989. Since then, there have been 235 DNA evidence exonerations. 140 of these were Negroid men as opposed to 64 Caucasoid men. Before the next question, let's take a look at some of the factors that may lead to wrongful convictions: (1) 3% Mistaken I.D. (2) 21% Informant/Snitches (3) 21% False Confessions (4) 35% Hair Comparisons (5) 101% DNA Inclusion At The Time Of Trial. It should also be noted that even DNA evidence can be fabricated as well.

Question: So how does this tie into Rev. Dr. Malachi K. York?

Answer: On so many levels it does tie into Dr. York. However, his case is much more complex and has so many more dynamics to be added to the mixture. One thing that should be duly noted is that his case was not about the alleged crimes of child molestation or that of racketeering. His case was more of a war of right against wrong. Many of the injustices that I have mentioned in this very article are things he is still fighting to see come to an end, not only in America, but world over.

The reader should really digest the idea that when Dr. York erected the Egyptian village called, 'Tama RE, Egypt of the West', in Eatonton, Ga, that was not only an expression of his right to practice any faith, religion, or way of life he chose as long as he was not breaking the law, he was going against the grain of a system that thrives on abuse and oppression of those too frightened and un-educated to fight. So it must be stated that as he was pursuing his rights as an individual, he was also teaching others to become self- sufficient, doers, and thinkers. As people were becoming more productive members of society, The Corrections Corporation of America (Prison Industrial Complex) was losing its supply of uneducated, dependent, hopeless, and shiftless people that it needs to keep the cells full.

Question: So why would someone of such high morals, ideals, resources, and intellect plea guilty?

Answer: As I stated earlier, this was a very complex case to begin with and I will do my best to explain. Rev. York knew he was wanted removed dead or alive by a lot of different people and entities for personal, business, and religious reasons as well. With that in mind let me begin.

1. Dr. York, at the time of his arrest, was accompanied by three women. One of which was his wife, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Rev. York was being told that she was not receiving the medical treatment that she needs for her ailment. Multiple Sclerosis is an illness that attacks the brain and can leave the person crippled for life if untreated.

2. Rev. York received ineffectiveness of counsel. His lawyers at the time were Manny Aurora and Ed Garland, of Garland, Samuel, and Loeb. It should be noted Ed Garland has a reputation for talking his clients into taking a plea deal, serving them up on a platter to the Correction Corporation of America (Prison Industrial Complex). True to form, he did the same thing to Rev. York.

3. Dr. York has a medical condition himself, known as Acute Hereditary Angioedema. This ailment causes the air passages to swell and IS TRIGGERED BY STRESS AND CAN BE FATAL IF LEFT UNTREATED. It has been well documented that Dr. York has not received the medical treatment he needs to this day, after almost 10 years of incarceration.

4. Rev. DR. Malachi K. York was also interrogated for hours on end for days, deprived of sleep, given very rare bathroom privileges, placed in over crowded cells, and forced to sleep on floors with true, hardened criminals, murderers and drug dealers and the likes for 6 months straight. This abuse started from the time of his illegal kidnapping by way of arrest on May 8, 2002, all the way up to his illegal plea agreement on January 24, 2003. I will remind the reader to keep in mind that he was 57 years old at the time when all this was going on!!!!

5. DR. York was being told by his own so-called counsel that the three women would spend the rest of their lives in prison, never to see their children again and it was all because of him.

6. His attorney Garland, told him to take the plea, it was no way he could win the case, take the plea and let the women go so they can be with their children and families, it's you that they really want. If you were my son I would tell you the same thing.

7. DR. York is also a Diplomat, Consul-General, Head of the Consulate Post for the Republic of Liberia, West Africa. Dr. York repeatedly informed the arresting officers during their illegal arrest and kidnapping who he is and that he has Diplomatic Identification and Passport Number: D/003828-04. They only replied to him by saying, "Shut the F*&# UP." Let me take this time to point out that these were county sheriffs and police officers violating international laws, namely Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

8. So with all this, seemingly the weight of the world on his shoulders, Rev. Dr. Malachi Kobina York took the plea deal, which was if he would plea guilty, the women who were with him that day would be set free.

As one can see by this article, there is a lot more than meets the eye as to why someone would plea guilty when they were innocent, so please don't be so quick to judge. As stated earlier, I strongly suggest that everyone who reads this article go out at your earliest convenience and retain a lawyer that will have your best interest at hand for any legal problems you may encounter in the future. I hope I have answered your questions and have given you a clearer understanding of the reason why this happens so often right under our noses.