Public defenders are usually trash that just want to get through cases as quickly as possible, so they can pad their resumes and get paid better. I'm not going to say you should never take a plea deal, but you had damned well better know what you're getting yourself into first. This guy would've likely been better off risking the death penalty, since He's still going to be in prison the rest of his life.
He had full retard (if not actively sabotaging) lawyers who somehow convinced him to plead guilty to TWENTY-NINE hate crimes.
He could potentially have walked, but instead, his defense only concerned themselves with avoiding the death penalty.
Now he has 419 years in prison for getting spooked in a protest.
Public defenders are usually trash that just want to get through cases as quickly as possible, so they can pad their resumes and get paid better. I'm not going to say you should never take a plea deal, but you had damned well better know what you're getting yourself into first. This guy would've likely been better off risking the death penalty, since He's still going to be in prison the rest of his life.
Hell, I would take the death penalty in a heartbeat in such a situation.