There's More Than Just Trial
- Hatsar Andre
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
By: Arshi Datta
In May 2025, the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) announced that Virginia has the lowest recidivism rate in the country, at 17.6%. The recidivism rate is a statistic that measures the likelihood of a convicted individual reoffending. So it’s no wonder that the VADOC touts the percentage as a source of pride for the agency, considering other states often range from 20-50%. In fact, recidivism rates are directly tied to funding from the Department of Justice (DOJ) or state funding; it's the measurement organizations use to decide what initiatives work.
Yet, the lowest rates of recidivism occur in alternatives to the typical court process: diversion programs. Those programs work because they acknowledge extenuating circumstances such as young age, hardship, or unfortunate conditions. In Charlotte, North Carolina(NC), the Teen Court program serves first-time juvenile offenders who have been charged with a misdemeanor. Their cases are diverted from juvenile court to a setting where they are tried by their peers and represented by trained teen attorneys, while a barred lawyer typically acts as judge. Undoubtedly, this works. Lift Up Carolinas, the organization that facilitates the program, reports a recidivism rate of about 3%.
But what makes this program so successful? When asked, the Program Director, Ms. Lauren Bowley, answered, “There is accountability because I think kids that are maybe 14, 15, even 16, that are starting to go in that direction. If they aren't held accountable, it just allows them to continue.” Teen Court focuses on first-time juvenile offenders, but this selectivity isn’t an oversight. As Ms.Bowley explains, matching youth to the right interventions is important for success. When cases fall beyond Teen Court’s scope, she redirects them to proper support: “If you go into the court system, the courts can mandate services, and they can also provide the services to the youth and to their family.”
Teen Court’s selectivity is one reason for its success, and adults can benefit from similarly tailored support. In 2022, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced an Adult Diversion Program that provides job training, counseling, and awareness. But for cases where diversion isn’t a fit, other options exist: plea deals, pre-trial resolutions, preconviction programs, or parole assistance that may reduce sentencing.
Although alternatives to a jury trial may fast-track the path to a case closed, they require admitting guilt. Plea deals alone account for upwards of 90% of state and federal convictions. The goal is to encourage accountability and the acknowledgement of wrongdoings, leading to a shorter sentence. Yet, its popularity may be a result of other factors. Today, court systems can be notoriously backed up, and plea deals offer lawyers a quick resolution. They are even marketed as avoiding the risk of receiving a potentially harsher sentence in a jury trial.
The truth is, the court system does not want anyone to reoffend, so every program and initiative is started with goal of achieving a low recidivism rate. But that statistic can not tell you the whole story, especially when coupled with systematic pressures. The convenience of plea deals has been shown to overwhelm innocent people into a guilty confession. When a defendant truly hasn’t committed the crime but does not know if a jury will believe them, they’ll decide to take the deal, creating a wrongful conviction.
Fortunately, after sentencing, there’s more: appeals, contacting independent organizations, nonprofits, and activists. They will do their best to review your case. Sometimes, programs that want to help are left unused. Even Ms.Bowley experiences this: “And last year I had a good number of referrals, but we have not been back to the number that we had pre-COVID.” While not all alternatives are systematic, such as diversion, pleas, and parole, each organization will assist in reaching a just and fair verdict. The help is there if you’re looking for it.
We're just one of these organizations. At Youth for Innocence, we exclusively focus on exoneration work: we’ll review your case, summarize what happened during your trial, do research to investigate for new evidence, or point out flaws and prepare our findings to support attorneys working to overturn wrongful convictions. Above all, no matter where you are in the justice system, there’s more than just trial.
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