Distorting the Prosecution Process: Informers, Mandatory Minimum Sentences, and Wrongful Convictions

As the use of mandatory minimum sentences becomes more common in Canada, it is important to consider a range of potential consequences that are neither intended nor anticipated. This article considers the implications of mandatory minimum sentences in contributing to wrongful convictions. It considers the impact of these sentences on two significant processes in the criminal justice system, plea bargaining and the development of informers, and argues that both processes are vulnerable to distortions. These distortions, which include the wrongful conviction of innocent people, can be exacerbated by the threat of mandatory minimum prison sentences. In the case of plea bargaining, innocent people may plead guilty to lesser offences to avoid mandatory minima. In regard to the development of informers, the article concentrates primarily on the role of mandatory minimum sentences in the matter of “jailhouse informer” witnesses who have been associated with a significant number of wrongful convictions. Experience in the United States, where these sentences are most widely used, informs the analysis which is nonetheless focused on the Canadian criminal justice system