Two Executives Were Arrested by Authorities for Embezzling Money from Their

Essay

Two executives were arrested by authorities for embezzling money from their firm. Short of a confession, the prosecutor only had enough evidence to put them away for 10 years. Given a confession, however, she was certain to put them behind bars for life without parole, since they killed a law enforcement officer who was investigating the case. The prosecutor put the two prisoners in separate rooms and told them the following: "If you confess and your partner does not, I'll give you a year's probated sentence but put your partner in the slammer for life without parole. Of course, if your partner confesses and you don't, you'll get the life sentence without parole and he'll get one year's probation. I must warn you, however, that if you both confess I'll have enough evidence to put you both away for life without parole."
a. Do you think the prosecutor's bargain will induce the two executives to confess? Explain.
b. Would your answer change if the life sentence carried the possibility of parole? Explain.