--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Defendant: I am pleading guilty your…" description: "\"“The Defendant: I am pleading guilty your honors but I'm doing it because I think it would be a waste of money to have a trial over five dollars worth ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_courts_the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your_1923054.jpg" --- # The Defendant: I am pleading guilty your honors but I'm… ![“The Defendant: I am pleading guilty your honors but I'm doing it because I think it would be a waste of money to have a trial over five dollars worth of crack. What I really need is a drug program because I want to turn my life around and the only reason I was doing what I was doing on the street…” quote by Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_courts_the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your_1923054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_courts_the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your_1923054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_courts_the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your_1923054.jpg) > ““The Defendant: I am pleading guilty your honors but I'm doing it because I think it would be a waste of money to have a trial over five dollars worth of crack. What I really need is a drug program because I want to turn my life around and the only reason I was doing what I was doing on the street was to support my habit. The habit has to be fed your honors as you know and I believe in working for my money. I could be out there robbing people but I'm not and I've always worked even though I am disabled. And not always at this your honors, I used to be a mail carrier back in the day but then I started using drugs and that was all I wanted to do. So I'm taking this plea to save the city of New York and the taxpayers money because I can't believe that the DA, who I can see is a very tall man, would take to trial a case involving five dollars worth of crack, especially knowing how much a trial of that nature would cost. But I still think that I should get a chance to do a drug program because I've never been given that chance in any of my cases and the money that will be spent keeping me in jail could be spent addressing my real problem which is that I like, no need, to smoke crack every day and every chance I get, and if I have to point people to somebody who's selling the stuff so I can get one dollar and eventually save up enough to buy a vial then smoke it immediately and start saving up for my next one that I'll gladly do that, and I'll do it even though I know it could land me in jail for years because the only thing that matters at that moment is getting my next vial and I am not a Homo-sapiens-sexual your honors but if I need money to buy crack I will suck. . . .”” [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The defendant argues that a costly trial over a trivial drug amount is wasteful and advocates for treatment over incarceration. **In simple terms:** Trial costs outweigh benefits; treatment preferred. Key Takeaway Prioritize rehabilitation over punitive measures for minor offenses. Themes justice drug policy economics Mood critical concerned Type policy ethical When to use this quote - court sentencing - public policy - social services Key Concepts cost-benefit analysis rehabilitation legal ethics Questions to Reflect On - Should low-level drug offenses be diverted to treatment? - How to balance public safety with compassionate care? A Different Perspective Treatment may not guarantee abstinence or public safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courts/) [Criminal justice system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-justice-system/) [Defendant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defendant/) [Drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drugs/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trial/) ## Related quotes > [Well, the thing is I just got sentenced September 12th 2008 to 30 years. 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The habit has to be fed your honors as you know and I believe in working for my money. I could be out there robbing people but I'm not and I've always worked even though I am disabled. And not always at this your honors, I used to be a mail carrier back in the day but then I started using drugs and that was all I wanted to do. So I'm taking this plea to save the city of New York and the taxpayers money because I can't believe that the DA, who I can see is a very tall man, would take to trial a case involving five dollars worth of crack, especially knowing how much a trial of that nature would cost. But I still think that I should get a chance to do a drug program because I've never been given that chance in any of my cases and the money that will be spent keeping me in jail could be spent addressing my real problem which is that I like, no need, to smoke crack every day and every chance I get, and if I have to point people to somebody who's selling the stuff so I can get one dollar and eventually save up enough to buy a vial then smoke it immediately and start saving up for my next one that I'll gladly do that, and I'll do it even though I know it could land me in jail for years because the only thing that matters at that moment is getting my next vial and I am not a Homo-sapiens-sexual your honors but if I need money to buy crack I will suck. . . .”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sergio De La Pava" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your-honors-but-i-m-doing-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your-honors-but-i-m-doing-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_courts_the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your_1923054.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_courts_the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your_1923054.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_courts_the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your_1923054.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Defendant: I am pleading guilty your honors but I'm doing it because I think it would be a waste of…” — Sergio De La Pava", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sergio De La Pava", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The Defendant: I am pleading guilty...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your-honors-but-i-m-doing-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-defendant-i-am-pleading-guilty-your-honors-but-i-m-doing-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```