Take My Client Directly to Jail, Lawyer Begs

As Americans, we have a right to a speedy trial when accused of a crime. So what do you do when someone argues that a trial is not necessary, and that you should go straight to prison -- and it's your own lawyer saying it?

Steven Acosta, 59, has been in jail for over three years since he allegedly beat his wife over the head with a hammer at her Twin Peaks home, according to the San Franciso Examiner. Kimberley Celoni suffered skull fractures and was permanently disfigured.

Acosta's lawyer says that the defendant was "dope-crazy" at the time of the attack, and that he is unlikely to survive the life sentence that is awaiting him should he be convicted. What's more, "everyone in the world knows he did it," said Floyd Andrews, Acosta's attorney, according to the newspaper. "Do we really have to have a seven-week trial?"

The answer, at least from the District Attorney's Office, is yes. Acosta "is a very dangerous individual and this is a very serious case," according to prosecutors.

Acosta, a former dockworker, became addicted to painkillers following a 2007 injury, according to Andrews. He became homeless before he attacked his estranged wife. He is in poor health, and will not survive incarceration -- in fact, Andrews had asked for a plea deal in the hopes that Acosta would die outside of prison, he said.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday.