I wouldn’t normally post something like this because the entry of an initial plea in any criminal case is normal, uninteresting, no big deal. However, Perez Hilton seems to think it’s a big fucking outrage. He says: “The ambulance driver and government official charged with extorting John Travolta for $25 million have pleaded not guilty to the charges! We don’t buy it!”
As I’m sure you recall, John Travolta’s teenage son Jett died in the Bahamas in January after a seizure. Paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former Bahamian Senator Pleasant Bridgewater are charged with trying to extort Travolta in exchange for some sort of document relating to Jett’s treatment and ambulance transport.
Here’s the deal. When people are charged with crimes, they appear first in court at an arraignment. The charges are formally read to the defendants and they have the opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty. 99.9% of the time, a defendant’s initial plea is not guilty. Even if they know they’re guilty and plan to eventually plead guilty, the initial plea is still “not guilty.” This gives the defense attorney and the prosecutor time to figure out how strong the case really is and to discuss possible plea agreements.
If they walked into court and pleaded guilty at the arraignment, there would probably have been no plea discussions, their attorneys would probably not have had a chance to fully investigate the case and they would be flying blind. An initial “not guilty” is NOT UNUSUAL. Perez – stop being so fucking melodramatic!
