My friend is serving LWOP. Now this is what I don't understand. He had a state appointed and even this man thought he could go to trial and end up with a lesser sentence. Even if he didn't get the lesser sentence he still would have gotten LWOP nothing more. He did the crime he's in for, he admits that, he admits his wrongs. The people who would have testified for him all told him they had no problem with doing what they had to do to help him. His thing is, he knew he done wrong and felt he put the people who loved him through enough just by doing what he did and he didn't feel they should suffer any more by going through the trial. But we do suffer everyday. And more so knowing he will never get out. But what happens one day if he realizes he should have fought, will it be too late? I really hope that day comes and I really hope it is not to late at that point. I talk to him constantly and as time goes by he is opening up more to me about some things, but I still don't know why he won't fight. Maybe it is his way of punishing himself for what he's done. I just don't know! UGH! The stress of it all!

If I'm clear on this,.. he didn't have a trial?
He did have a plea to LWOP?

If that's the case, you might not understand what he plead to. NO one pleads to the Maximum that their case carries.

If someone pleas to LWOP it is most likely to avoid the next (only other penalty on the table above it... Death Penalty).

From the top, in most states that have all these options...
1. Death Penalty,
2. Life penalty (with or without parole)
3. Some number of years in a sentence.

Usually if someone pleas to Life Without (and is grateful for it,) it would be because the circumstances of what they could have faced in trial were not good enough to negotiate a plea to Life with parole eligibility or any number of years as a sentence.

Again. People do not plead to the maximum. They have to be given a concession by the prosecution for the plea to be valid.

That doesn't really answer your question though, does it.
Might give you a few more questions to be answered.

My guess would be that he might think he's danged fortunate to have taken the plea he did and avoided giving a jury the option of finding something worse to give him.

Pleas are hard to undo, and when it happens, your person has then no plea to rely on and faces retrial for all the marbles.

That does sound more reasonable to me, thanks. I have him to a point where he is opening up to me again, but his counslors say he talks to no one there so they go through me. Maybe one day he'll be willing to fill me in on the whole story, but I know not to push or even ask. It took almost 10 years to get him to the point where he's at now, I don't want to push anything to push his progress back. He's actually fine with what he's gotten and where he's at so I am sure you're correct on the death penalty thing. I guess in the same situation I probably would have done the exact same thing, LWOP would have been my choice also. And I always thought in the back of my mind that was what happened, but never wanted to admit to it I guess. Thanks for your help! You are the best!!!!