"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
Offering “Plea Bargains” Is Actually a Horrible Government Practice
Because it is so commonplace, most people accept the practice of State prosecutors offering a “plea bargain” without much thought. After all, it seems like a win-win situation: the State saves on court costs and other resources, while the defendant who takes the “deal” does less time than what he or she is likely to suffer if the case goes to a full trial. Yet even though they are very common in the U.S., a prosecutor offering a plea bargain is actually quite horrible and a travesty of justice, when you think about it from a certain perspective.
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From the article: “Plea bargains are extraordinarily common in the American legal system, accounting for roughly 90% of all criminal cases."
In other words, in 90% of America's criminal cases, people are convicted without the case ever having actually gone to trial.
I would suggest to people to be very careful indeed about accepting plea bargains. They are a handy tool for law enforcement to increase their conviction rates, and little more.