History Main / IWontSayImGuilty

Another reason for this to be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] is that having a conviction on your record can really mess up your day. Even though you only spent three days in prison, you're still a convicted criminal for the rest of your life. Trying to apply for jobs, loans, and things like that gets a ''lot'' harder.

-->-- '''Proctor''', ''Theatre/TheCrucible''

* In an episode of ''Series/NYPDBlue'', a young wannabe gangsta cops to shooting someone but refuses to plead to any charge. He was convinced since [[MurderByMistake he shot the wrong person]], [[TooDumbToLive the charges didn't]] [[ArtisticLicenseLaw apply to him.]]

* Averted in ''Film/ConAir'': Poe pleads guilty to murder, following his attorney's advice, but it doesn't make much sense how the odds could possibly be so stacked against him when it was clearly self-defense in a bar-brawl against four guys.

* In an episode of ''Series/NYPDBlue'', a young wannabe gangsta cops to shooting someone but refuses to plead to any charge. He was convinced since [[MurderByMistake he shot the wrong person]], [[TooDumbToLive the charges didn't]] [[YouFailLawForever apply to him.]]

* Reversed in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. John Stewart is taken to trial where he is accused of destroying a planet. His friends all believe he's innocent, of course, but he pleads guilty without a second thought. [[spoiler:Turns out, of course, that [[FrameUp he was framed]], and had been successfully fooled by the plot as well. The crux of the realization was that the [[YouFailPhysicsForever moon of the planet was still orbiting the debris, instead of having flown off into space due to lack of gravitational pull]].]]

* Related is the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_plea "Alford plea,"]] where a defendant explicitly pleads guilty to a crime, but otherwise professes their innocence (i.e.: "I'll agree with your argument that I did it, but at the same time I want you to know that I really didn't."). It's basically a plea of {{not what it looks like}}. Alfords are rare as hell, and with pretty good reason...

** In case 4 of ''Justice For All'', [[spoiler:this is subverted. When asked if he killed the victim, the defendant "truthfully" tells Phoenix that he didn't. He just hired someone ''else'' to do it, which makes him as guilty as if he'd done it himself. If you get the good ending, Phoenix's client switches to a guilty plea, since walking free would mean living in fear of his hitman killing him in revenge one day.]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

** In case 2 of ''Justice For All'', Phoenix is insistent on getting Maya a complete acquittal. This appears to be a rather suicidal move, as doing so forfeits her the ability to plead justifiable homicide, which the DA has all but proven. Phoenix explains that if he allowed Maya to plead justifiable self-defense, that would still be admitting she did it, which would ruin her reputation and career. Phoenix believes Maya didn't do it, and based on what Mia told him about spirit channeling, he has proof. (It would never hold up in court, but it was enough to convince Phoenix that Maya absolutely could not have killed Grey.)
** Pretty much all of ''Phoenix Wright'' in general. If a client is pleading innocent, then you'd better believe they're innocent. If they're pleading guilty, then they're either [[TakingTheHeat covering for someone]] or believe they did it, even when in truth they didn't. Never does Phoenix have a client who's actually guilty, and he seems totally aware of that, refusing to allow them to plead guilty no matter what.
** Subverted in the fourth case of Justice for All: [[spoiler:When asked if he killed the victim, the defendant "truthfully" tells Phoenix that he didn't. He just hired someone ''else'' to do it, which makes him as guilty as if he'd done it himself. If you get the good ending, Phoenix's client switches to a guilty plea, since walking free would mean living in fear of his hitman killing him in revenge one day.]]

** Pretty much all of ''Phoenix Wright'' in general. If a client is pleading innocent, then you'd better believe they're innocent. If they're pleading guilty, then they're either [[TakingTheHeat covering for someone]] or believe they did it, even when in truth they didn't. Never does Phoenix have a client who's actually guilty, [[GenreSavvy and he seems totally aware of that]], refusing to allow them to plead guilty no matter what.

This trope should not be confused with NeverMyFault, which, in a context similar to this trope! would be this sort of attitude being held by someone who's '''actually guilty''', far too [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] to cop to it, and far too [[SmugSnake smug]] to accept a PleaBargain.

The version of this which actually exists in the world of criminal law is the plea of ''nolo contendere'' ("I do not wish to contend"), more commonly known as No Contest - entered when the defendant will accept the sentence but will not enter a guilty plea. Not accepted in all cases and jurisdictions.

** In [[Literature/AStormOfSwords the third book in the series]], Tyrion is urged to falsely confess to [[spoiler: Joffrey's]] murder, on the grounds that he will be sent to the Wall and allowed to live out his days as a member of the Night's Watch rather than executed. Despite the evidence stacked firmly against him, he refuses to confess, since it would brand him as guilty of not only regicide, but kinslaying, which is seen as one of the most detestable crimes in the medieval society in which he lives--and more to the point, is seen as particularly detestable by him (having sacrificed so much and suffered so much abuse in the name of his family). The fact that nobody believes in his innocence, in addition to his horrible treatment throughout the series, is what causes him to eventually [[spoiler: kill his father, ironically making him a kinslayer in truth]].
* In his [[Literature/ApologyOfSocrates Apology]] Creator/{{Socrates}} refuses to plead guilty, even under the risk of losing his life.

** In one case a Mafia boss takes an ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_plea Alford]]'' plea when he's accused of putting out a successful hit on an Assistant District Attorney - specifically saying he didn't order the hit, but that the DA has enough to convict him at trial. Afterwards, the mobster tells [=McCoy=] that he should have known the truth because the rules he's followed in the family have always been "No cops, no DA's."
* Happens all the time in ''Series/ThePractice.'' In one episode, the defendant reluctantly agrees to plead guilty (while still privately denying guilt), ''after'' the jury is done deliberating. The plea is accepted, and then Bobby discovers that [[spoiler: the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty]].
* In an episode of ''Series/NYPDBlue'', a young wannabe gangsta cops to shooting someone but refuses to plead to any charge. He was convinced since he shot the wrong person, [[TooDumbToLive the charges didn't]] [[YouFailLawForever apply to him.]]

** In case 2 of ''Justice For All'', Phoenix is insistent on getting Maya a complete acquittal. This appears to be a rather suicidal move, as doing so forfeits her the ability to plead justifiable homicide, which the DA has all but proven. Phoenix explains that if he allowed Maya to plead justifiable self defense, that would still be admitting she did it, which would ruin her reputation and career. Phoenix believes Maya didn't do it, and based on what Mia told him about spirit channeling, he has proof. (It would never hold up in court, but it was enough to convince Phoenix that Maya absolutely could not have killed Grey.)
** Pretty much all of ''Phoenix Wright'' in general. If a client is pleading innocent, then you'd better believe they're innocent. If they're pleading guilty, then they're either covering for someone or believe they did it, even when in truth they didn't. Never does Phoenix have a client who's actually guilty, [[GenreSavvy and he seems totally aware of that]], refusing to allow them to plead guilty no matter what.
** Subverted in the fourth case of Justice for All: [[spoiler: When asked if he killed the victim, the defendant "truthfully" tells Phoenix that he didn't. He just hired someone ''else'' to do it, which makes him as guilty as if he'd done it himself. If you get the good ending, Phoenix's client switches to a guilty plea, since walking free would mean living in fear of his hitman killing him in revenge one day.]]
** Case five of the first game is also an exception: the defendant insists that she did it, but Phoenix is convinced otherwise. He is, of course, correct.

* Reversed in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. John Stewart is taken to trial where he is accused of destroying a planet. His friends all believe he's innocent of course, but he pleads guilty without a second thought. [[spoiler:Turns out, of course, that he was framed, and had been successfully fooled by the plot as well. The crux of the realization was that the [[YouFailPhysicsForever moon of the planet was still orbiting the debris, instead of having flown off into space due to lack of gravitational pull]].]]

*** One man accused of witchcraft, Giles Corey, famously refused to plead either way. In those days the law said that a person could not be tried without entering a plea first. Those who refused were "motivated" to by being pressed between two flat stones, with heavier stones placed on top. When given the choice to plead guilty (he'd live, but be deprived of all his property, thus leaving his family in poverty) or not guilty (he would be tried, inevitably convicted, put to death and lose his property anyway), he reportedly yelled, "More Weight!" It was the only way to leave his family with anything. Merely being accused of witchcraft had sealed his fate one way or the other. It was also of course a way of going out while {{defiant to the end}}.
** Interestingly enough, the exact opposite was true for Swedish witch trials, at least during the first waves. Only people who confessed were executed, since they were afraid that a guilty person who hadn't confessed and gotten absolution before death would haunt the living. However most people accused didn't know this, which was used against them in the hopes that they would believe that confessing would save them from execution. The first woman sentenced to death for witch craft in Sweden was known as Stor-Märet, and she was brought to the execution site, blindfolded and had her head positioned for beheading. Stor-Märet insisted that she was not guilty and was not executed. However her luck didn't last too long, as she was tried again later on during a stage of the witch trials where refusing to admit guilt didn't save you, and that time around she was beheaded.

** Most recently, the so-called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three#Plea_deal_and_release_.282011.29 "West Memphis 3"]] were permitted to enter an ''Alford'' plea to charges that they murdered 3 boys in 1993. Two of the three defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the third was given a death sentence. All had maintained their innocence (and evidence and later events revealed massive amounts of misconduct by police, prosecutors and jurors), but agreed to the plea so they could just be released, as the state promised to drag it out otherwise.
* To take it further, people refusing to cooperate with a trial occasionally also refuse to invoke the Fifth Amendment on the principle that, since the relevant clause protects against self-incrimination, this would amount to an admission that whatever they'd be saying ''would'' be incriminating. In this case the point isn't just "I didn't commit the crime you're accusing me of," but "The thing you're accusing me of isn't even a crime." The House Un-American Activities Committee [[RedScare investigations into communism]] in TheFifties featured some famous incidents of this-and a lot of subsequent indictments for contempt of Congress, since, because they were ''not'' accused of any crimes, legally they couldn't plead the Fifth.

** In one case a Mafia boss takes an ''Alford'' plea when he's accused of putting out a successful hit on an Assistant District Attorney - specifically saying he didn't order the hit, but that the DA has enough to convict him at trial. Afterwards, the mobster tells [=McCoy=] that he should have known the truth because the rules he's followed in the family have always been "No cops, no DA's."

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** Interestingly enough, the exact opposite was true for Swedish witch trials, at least during the first waves. Only people who confessed were executed, since they were afraid that a guilty person who hadn't confessed and gotten absolution before death would haunt the living. However most people accused didn't know this, which was used against them in the hopes that they would believe that confessing would save them from execution. The first woman sentenced to death for witch craft in Sweden was known as Stor-Märet, and she was brought to the execution site, blindfolded and had her head positioned for beheading. Stor-Märet insisted that she was not guilty and was not executed. However her luck didn't last too long, as she was tried again later on during a stage of the witch trials where refusing to admit guilt didn't save you, and that time around she was beheaded.

* Used almost word for word by one of the accused Marines in ''Film/AFewGoodMen''.
** Although this is an atypical example: The two Marines ''did'' do the actions they're on trial for, but Corporal Dawson refuses to plead guilty since he believes they were following the legitimate orders of their commander.

* In the third book in the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' series, Tyrion is urged to falsely confess to [[spoiler: Joffrey's]] murder, on the grounds that he will be sent to the Wall and allowed to live out his days as a member of the Night's Watch rather than executed. Despite the evidence stacked firmly against him, he refuses to confess, since it would brand him as guilty of not only regicide, but kinslaying, which is seen as one of the most detestable crimes in the medieval society in which he lives--and more to the point, is seen as particularly detestable by him (having sacrificed so much and suffered so much abuse in the name of his family). The fact that nobody believes in his innocence, in addition to his horrible treatment throughout the series, is what causes him to eventually [[spoiler: kill his father, ironically making him a kinslayer in truth]].
** Averted in the first book by Ned Stark, one of the few characters in the series from whom you might expect this kind of HonorBeforeReason act, who falsely confesses to treason to keep his children safe.

* At least one episode of ''Series/LawAndOrder'' featured a defendant who reluctantly pled guilty to a murder that he is later exonerated of. The twist was that his lawyer was crooked and strong-armed him into taking the plea deal for a bribe from the actual guilty party. As a rule, though, most defendants on the show will plea out once enough evidence piles up against them, but usually not until they've gone to trial.

* Happens all the time in ''Series/ThePractice.''
** In one episode, the defendant reluctantly agrees to plead guilty (while still privately denying guilt), ''after'' the jury is done deliberating. The plea is accepted, and then Bobby discovers that [[spoiler: the jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty]].

* Used almost word for word by one of the accused Marines in ''AFewGoodMen''.

* The aerobics lady from ''Legally Blonde'' is also an exception.
* ''{{Braveheart}}'': Captured by the English crown and convicted for leading the Scots in rebellion, William Wallace is informed that he will receive a swifter death if he apologizes to King Edward. Wallace refuses: ''"Never in my life did I swear loyalty to him."''

* In the third book in the ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' series, Tyrion is urged to falsely confess to [[spoiler: Joffrey's]] murder, on the grounds that he will be sent to the Wall and allowed to live out his days as a member of the Night's Watch rather than executed. Despite the evidence stacked firmly against him, he refuses to confess, since it would brand him as guilty of not only regicide, but kinslaying, which is seen as one of the most detestable crimes in the medieval society in which he lives--and more to the point, is seen as particularly detestable by him (having sacrificed so much and suffered so much abuse in the name of his family). The fact that nobody believes in his innocence, in addition to his horrible treatment throughout the series, is what causes him to eventually [[spoiler: kill his father, ironically making him a kinslayer in truth]].

* Reversed in ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. John Stewart is taken to trial where he is accused of destroying a planet. His friends all believe he's innocent of course, but he pleads guilty without a second thought. [[spoiler:Turns out, of course, that he was framed, and had been successfully fooled by the plot as well. The crux of the realization was that the [[YouFailPhysicsForever moon of the planet was still orbiting the debris, instead of having flown off into space due to lack of gravitational pull]].]]

*** One man accused of witchcraft was "motivated" by being pressed between two flat stones, with heavier stones placed on top. When given the choice to confess (death and excommunication) or accuse the church leaders of blasphemy (death and confiscation of property [depriving his family]), he reportedly yelled, "More Weight!"

* Related is the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_plea "Alford plea,"]] where a defendant explicitly pleads guilty to a crime, but otherwise professes their innocence (ie: "I'll agree with your argument that I did it, but at the same time I want you to know that I really didn't."). It's basically a plea of {{Not What It Looks Like}}. Alfords are rare as hell, and with pretty good reason...
** Most recently, the so-called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three#Plea_deal_and_release "West Memphis 3"]] were permitted to enter an ''Alford'' Plea to charges that they murdered 3 boys in 1993. Two of the three defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the third was given a death sentence. All had maintained their innocence (and evidence and later events revealed massive amounts of misconduct by police, prosecutors and jurors), but agreed to the plea as the state was prepared to carry out the death sentence imposed by the original jury.
* To take it further, people refusing to cooperate with a trial occasionally also refuse to invoke the Fifth Amendment on the principle that, since the relevant clause protects against self-incrimination, this would amount to an admission that whatever they'd be saying ''would'' be incriminating. In this case the point isn't just "I didn't commit the crime you're accusing me of," but "The thing you're accusing me of isn't even a crime." The House Un-American Activities Committee [[RedScare investigations into communism]] in TheFifties featured some famous incidents of this (and a lot of subsequent indictments for contempt of Congress).

** Often assumed for traffic violations.

* In case 2 of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', Phoenix is insistent on getting Maya a complete acquittal. This appears to be a rather suicidal move, as doing so forfeits her the ability to plead justifiable homicide, which the DA has all but proven.
** Pretty much all of Phoenix Wright in general, at least half the time. (We are aware of the contradiction.) If a client is pleading innocent, then you'd better believe they're innocent. If they're pleading guilty, then they're either covering for someone or believe they did it, even when in truth they didn't. Never does Phoenix have a client who's actually guilty, [[GenreSavvy and he seems totally aware of that]], refusing to allow them to plead guilty no matter what.
*** Phoenix explains that if he allowed Maya to plead justifiable self defense, that would still be admitting she did it, which would ruin her reputation and career. Phoenix believed Maya didn't do it, and based on what Mia told him about spirit channeling, he had proof. (It would never hold up in court, but it was enough to convince Phoenix that Maya absolutely could not have killed Grey.) He knew she was innocent, and he didn't want to ruin her life. That's not suicidal, it's trying to prove what he knows to be true. [[spoiler: Also, two of Phoenix's clients were indeed guilty, one of which insisted adamantly that he was, indeed, the guilty party.]]
*** Subverted in the fourth case of Justice for All: [[spoiler: When asked if he killed the victim, the defendant "truthfully" tells Phoenix that he didn't. He just hired someone ELSE to do it, which makes him as guilty as if he'd done it himself. If you get the good ending, Phoenix's client switches to a guilty plea, since walking free would mean living in fear of his hitman killing him in revenge one day.]]
*** Case five of the first game is also an exception: the defendant insists that she did it, but Phoenix is convinced otherwise. He is, of course, correct.

-->-- '''Proctor''', ''TheCrucible''

* The Salem witch trials, mentioned below, are depicted in ''TheCrucible'', where the question of whether to save himself by giving in to the InsaneTrollLogic of the witch hunters is the main conflict for the protagonist.

* In case 2 of ''PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Justice For All'', Phoenix is insistent on getting Maya a complete acquittal. This appears to be a rather suicidal move, as doing so forfeits her the ability to plead justifiable homicide, which the DA has all but proven.
** Pretty much all of Phoenix Wright in general, at least half the time. (I am aware of the contradiction.) If a client is pleading innocent, then you'd better believe they're innocent. If they're pleading guilty, then they're either covering for someone or believe they did it, even when in truth they didn't. Never does Phoenix have a client who's actually guilty, [[GenreSavvy and he seems totally aware of that]], refusing to allow them to plead guilty no matter what.
*** Phoenix explains that if he allowed Maya to plead justifiable self defense, that would still be admitting she did it, which would ruin her reputation and career. Phoenix believed Maya didn't do it, and based on what Mia told him about spirit channelling, he had proof. (It would never hold up in court, but it was enough to convince Phoenix that Maya absolutely could not have killed Grey.) He knew she was innocent, and he didn't want to ruin her life. That's not suicidal, it's trying to prove what he knows to be true. [[spoiler: Also, two of Phoenix's clients were indeed guilty, one of which insisted adamantly that he was, indeed, the guilty party.]]

*** Case five of the first game is also an exception: the defendant insists that she did it, but Phoenix is convinced otherwise. He is of course correct.

* Bart Simpson "confessed" to Lisa stealing textbooks in an ep of ''TheSimpsons''. An example of the aforementioned TakingTheHeat exception.
* Spinelli does this in the ''Recess'' episode "The Trial" until she gets the guts to go up into the stands herself.

* Happens all the time in ''ThePractice.''

* In an episode of ''NYPDBlue'', a young wannabe gangsta cops to shooting someone but refuses to plead to any charge. He was convinced since he shot the wrong person, [[TooDumbToLive the charges didn't]] [[YouFailLawForever apply to him.]]
* In {{The X-Files}}, Mulder does this in the series finale. He's up for murdering a man who cannot die (because he's a Super Soldier). He knows that it's all a ploy to get rid of him and the Truth ''and'' that the guy isn't really dead, and therefore refuses to plead guilty to a crime he didn't commit. It doesn't help that he is tortured in a brainwashing attempt and endures a KangarooCourt. Even after being sentenced to death by lethal injection, he refuses to plead guilty or recant his knowledge of the Truth.

* In the third book in the ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' series, Tyrion is urged to falsely confess to [[spoiler: Joffrey's]] murder, on the grounds that he will be sent to the Wall and allowed to live out his days as a member of the Night's Watch rather than executed. Despite the evidence stacked firmly against him, he refuses to confess, since it would brand him as guilty of not only regicide, but kinslaying, which is seen as one of the most detestable crimes in the medieval society in which he lives. The fact that nobody believes in his innocence, in addition to his horrible treatment throughout the series, is what causes him to eventually [[spoiler: kill his father, ironically making him a kinslayer in truth]].