# Would the police honor this type of deal in this type of situation?



## ironpony (Jul 21, 2018)

For my story, basically I need a computer hacker character to help the main character track down the villains untraceable crime website, since the main character, a cop, is not really a hacking expert, and doesn't have much time to learn really.

I was thinking the police could turn to a convicted hacker, guilty of past hacking crimes, and offer him a pardon, if he is successful in tracing who's computer website is coming from.  However, let's say that story takes a turn of events in which the criminals are caught another way, other than the website being traced.  Would the police still pardon the convict for giving it an honest effort, or would they put him back in prison, even though the hacker gave it his best and did what they wanted?


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## CyberWar (Jul 22, 2018)

I suppose it would depend on the moral integrity of the authority sanctioning the deal (police chief, judge, etc.). In principle, they are under no legal obligation to honour an agreement made with a convict_._ 

The only compelling reason for the authorities to honour the deal is reputation - convicts are unlikely to enter any future deals with an authority figure that has a history of betraying those agreements. To put it simply, honouring agreements makes their future job easier.

So I suppose the outcome would depend on how you intend to present the authorities in your story, i.e., whether you want to depict them as upstanding and trustworthy or morally-bankrupt and unreliable.


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## ironpony (Jul 22, 2018)

Okay thanks. It's kind of hard to say, because the people making the deal will be out of the picture by the end.  I want the convict to make decisions based on what he think they will do, so would he think they would honor it or not is the question... You say that they are under no legal obligation, but wouldn't a legal agreement have to be signed, to make them honor it, and if the convict was smart, wouldn't he want one drawn up for his own insurance?


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## Ralph Rotten (Jul 22, 2018)

Yes, they can offer deals for cases currently in progress, and some post-conviction relief if they cooperate.

This would sound like me a great chance to introduce a really fun character. Start a chapter with the guy doing something fun & clever [and illegal], let the reader get to know 'em, have fun with him, then just when he is about to be rich...the cops kick in his door.  Next thing he knows, he's sitting in an interrogation room with your hero.  Once you have 2 well developed characters in the same room, in adversarial roles, the scene can really be a lot of fun.


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## ironpony (Jul 22, 2018)

Okay thanks.  However, the character is a minor supporting character and not sure if he is needed with a whole backstory of how he was arrested in the first place, and thought I would just start out with him already convicted and already offered the deal perhaps.  It depends on how much time I should spend on the backstory of a minor character.  Here is a scene from the movie Seven, where the main characters seek the help of another character who has connections, in order to get the plot moving:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mduOTFCV7nA

This character is only in two scenes, and they don't really go into a lot of backstory of how he came to be where he is with the main character and we don't get to know him a lot.  So if I were to get to know him too much, would that be overdoing, compared to an example like this?


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## patskywriter (Jul 23, 2018)

I like Ralph Rotten’s advice and highly recommend that you give it a go. By the way, the police make arrests, but they can’t make decisions regarding sentences and pardons.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jul 23, 2018)

Chapter 3: Blinky

     Even small characters should be properly introduced and illustrated, otherwise you end up with blank people.
I think you are missing a great opportunity to take a fun twist in the story. Id make the hacker the ultimate loser, absolutely pathetic, his friends call him Twitchy because of nerve damage.  

Characters are only small if you write them that way. I'd spend a page introducing him.  Look at how Clancy used to introduce characters. He once spent 3 pages on a GI who got killed a page later...but you cared about the guy when it happened.


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## ironpony (Jul 23, 2018)

Oh okay thanks, I never actually read a Clancy book yet.  I thought of this character as a small character who would just be in a couple of quick scenes, like the example I gave.  I thought if I spent too much time on him, it might get overcomplicated when I am trying to cut down, and trim the fat.  But I could give more to him, just not sure what.

You say this character could be really fun, but what about him seems that way from what I have described?  Like if he is absolutely pathetic, did you have something in mind for how that would pay off, or where it was going to go?


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## patskywriter (Jul 23, 2018)

ironpony said:


> … You say this character could be really fun, but what about him seems that way from what I have described?  Like if he is absolutely pathetic, did you have something in mind for how that would pay off, or where it was going to go?



This is where you develop your imagination and your writing skills. Let’s be honest here, and I’m not saying this to be mean: This story is probably not going to be very good. You ask how you should do this every step of the way. You have no confidence. When someone makes a suggestion, you either ask how to do it or argue against it. I say, just get it done. Make a commitment to finish it, and if you actually learn something from the experience, you’ll do better next time—and hopefully without doubting yourself with practically every breath you take. Hardly anyone writes a blockbuster the first time out. When I wrote my first song, it was dreadful and I knew it. But I kept at it and got good enough to catch the attention of a well-known jazz lyricist (who ended up writing lyrics to three of my songs. I treasure them dearly.)


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## ironpony (Jul 23, 2018)

Well I haven't been able to think of anything as great for this character yet, so I thinking I might just junk him and come up with a different hacker, with different motivations to hack.  I mean the whole cut a deal with an ex-hacker just seems to be lacking in drama, and I thought maybe there is a hacker with better motivations out there maybe.

Sorry if I argued against suggestions sometimes, it's just some of the suggestions seem contradictory and I don't know how to apply them so I say why I feel they won't work sometimes.

This isn't my first time, out I have written four stories before this one, so this would be my fifth around.


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## sigmadog (Jul 24, 2018)

I dispute the claim that (at least in the U.S.) police or a judge can pardon anyone duly convicted of a crime. As far as I am aware, pardon's are the sole province of the governor of the state, or the president, in the case of a federal crime.

The "deal" might be leniency in terms of the convict's location (a better prison, visitation with children, early parole, etc.), but "pardon" is beyond local police or judges. In the case of a convicted computer hacker, the crime is likely federal, since the internet crosses state lines, so the convict would be subject to a Presidential Pardon only.


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## ironpony (Jul 24, 2018)

Okay thanks, that makes sense.  What if I wrote it so that his case hasn't hit trial yet and the police ask the prosecutor to cut a deal, possibly dropping charges or immunity for helping?


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## Ralph Rotten (Jul 24, 2018)

Although his mother had named him Dexter Michael Philips, no one had called him that for years.  After a hit and run accident left him with nerve damage at the age of nine, his left eyelid had a habit of flickering about whenever he was excited.  It had only been a matter of time before the other kids in class had awarded him the nickname of Twitchy. While he had always tried to laugh along with them, deep down he knew that they really were laughing at him.  But even a boy named Twitchy has dreams, and his included all the luxuries of a rich man.

     But in the years that followed, Twitchy found roadblocks everywhere he looked.  First, there were his grades.  Although he had an above average intellect, there was no getting around the fact that Twitchy was just plain lazy.  Really, that one factor was the biggest reason for most of his unrealized dreams.  If an activity required much effort, he would find a way to avoid it.  His sloth ran so deep that it was rare that he would eat anywhere that did not have a driveup window; he hated even getting out of his car.

     After dropping out of school in the tenth grade, Twitchy was sure he was on the road to fortune and fame when a friend turned him onto a lucrative scam.  The racket had appealed to him right away; it promised great revenues for very little effort.  Really all he had to do was a little bit of acting, and a lot of lying.  It all seemed so perfect until their mark flashed his badge.  After that the high school dropout found himself a resident of the criminal justice system.

      While there were many things about his incarceration that he would prefer to forget, there had been one shining detail about juvie; it was there that he first learned he had an aptitude for computers.  One class led to another, and after his release he used public assistance to begin picking up certifications in computer science.  Before long he had acquired a surprising amount of knowledge in the field.  Then like everything else Twitchy did in life, he stopped going to school as soon as it got tough.  Convinced that he knew more than he really did, he decided to become a freelance computer specialist.  

     But predictably, Twitchy never really worked very hard at bringing in business.  Preferring to spend his time on the couch, he had no concerns about his mother being the only earner in the house.  _He had tried, hadn't he?  Wasn't that good enough?_  Back in school his teachers always gave him an E for effort, _shouldn't that still apply?_

     "Ma!"  Shouting out in a horse voice, Twitchy paused to blow a snot-rocket into the kitchen sink.  "Where'd you put my beer?"

     "Where's my weed?"  Stepping into the doorway, the skinny little woman cast him a sharp look.

     "Since when was I the keeper of your weed?"  Feigning innocence, Twitchy used a pudgy hand to scratch his head.

     "Bullshit!"  Jabbing him in the chest with a bony finger, she refuted his denial.  "You and your faggot friends smoked up all my medical marijuana."

     "Jeremy isn't gay, he's just metrosexual."  Shaking his head, Twitchy was anxious to get back to the topic of his beer.

     "I don't give a shit if you two spend the whole fucking night givin' each other hand jobs.  I want my fuckin weed back!"  Her eyes flaring as she spoke, it was clear that she was already feeling the effects of withdrawal.  Normally stoned and sedate, tonight she was livid to discover her stash gone.

     "We're not queers..." He started to defend himself when mother stepped in close and delivered a slap across the side of his face.

     "I don't care if you're motherfucking lepers, that weed was supposed to last me until Friday.  Now you get your lazy-ass out there and find me some weed before I go nuclear on your fat ass."  Drawing back her hand as if to slap him again, she made her point clear.

     "I don't got any money!" his voice rose an octave as he defended himself.

     "Then you shouldn't have let your faggot friend smoke all my weed."  Seething, she could feel the strain of being sober.  Really it was almost as if someone were pumping low voltages through her muscles as she craved her evening buzz.  Using a bony hand to brush back a lock of gray hair, she evaluated her son.

    "But Ma, I got--" He was just about to sidestep her when he saw her grab a spatula off the counter.  Having spent a lifetime being beat with his mother's impromptu weapons, he knew where this was going.

     "I don't give a shiny shit what shows you got on TV tonight!"  Smacking him several times to punctuate her words, she quickly devolved into striking him as fast as her arms could move.  "It's fuckin' Tuesday and I don't get no weed money till Friday so you get the fucking hell out there and find me some weed!" 

     With his arms up to ward off the blows, Twitchy tried to defend himself.  It was a strange sight, the little woman beating up a son that was nearly twice her weight.  Still, he took the abuse because he knew that it would only get worse if he fought back.  He had tried that path once, and it had cost him nine stitches.  Hands flailing, he heard the crack as the spatula broke, sending the end flying across the kitchen.  Lowering his hands, Twitchy was not surprised when she opened the nearest drawer in search of a new switch to beat him with.  After discarding two wooden spoons, she made a happy sound as her hand drew out a wooden meat-tenderizer.

     "Oh shit!" Realizing that there was only one way out of this, the dropout made for the door.  "Alright, alright!  I'll get you more weed!"

     "And none of that Messican schwag, either!"  Her voice hoarse from shouting, she stood in the doorway screaming after the man.  "I want chronic!  No fucking cum-licking Messican schwag or I'll womp you like a porterhouse!  Lazy fucking shit!"

     Twitchy was not listening anymore.  Once he was clear of the apartment, he just kept on going.  



Apologies, tis a rough draft.  Just felt like doing a little painting before bed.
From here on I'd prolly have him meet a shady friend with a foolproof plan to get rich. Then the next scene he is in jail.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jul 24, 2018)

sigmadog said:


> I dispute the claim that (at least in the U.S.) police or a judge can pardon anyone duly convicted of a crime. As far as I am aware, pardon's are the sole province of the governor of the state, or the president, in the case of a federal crime.
> 
> The "deal" might be leniency in terms of the convict's location (a better prison, visitation with children, early parole, etc.), but "pardon" is beyond local police or judges. In the case of a convicted computer hacker, the crime is likely federal, since the internet crosses state lines, so the convict would be subject to a Presidential Pardon only.




There is post-conviction relief, but that varies from state to state, and often has time limits on when it may be applied.  You would need to research it for the state in question.
But if Twitchy gets busted at just the right time, they could use him and offer him a lighter sentence.  

$0.02


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## RobbieO (Sep 24, 2018)

The police have absolutely zero say in the severity of sentencing or anything that goes on in the trial or post-trial process.  So no.


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## ironpony (Sep 24, 2018)

RobbieO said:


> The police have absolutely zero say in the severity of sentencing or anything that goes on in the trial or post-trial process.  So no.



But the prosecution decides what charges to pursue right?  So couldn't the prosecution offer a deal of dropping charges if the person cooperates?  I'm just going by other works of fiction, but in other works, the prosecution is always willing to cut deals in exchange for cooperation and help.


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