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Importance Of Plea Bargaining In Criminal Justice

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Importance Of Plea Bargaining In Criminal Justice
Plea bargaining not only serves a purpose in our criminal justice system; it has become a vital part of it. The significance of plea bargaining can be overlooked because of the implications of the wording. The term “plea bargain” sometimes implies a misnomer in the fact that it leads one to believe those who accept a plea bargain are getting off easy which in many cases is not true. In many cases, plea bargains prove to be the most efficient method of invoking justice on criminals (Bohm & Haley, 2011). The prosecutors job is to prosecute those responsible for the crimes and to punish the guilty ones within the confines of the criminal justice system. A plea bargain is a tool that the prosecutor can use for the purpose of speeding up the judicial process without violating the rights of those accused. Not only can plea bargaining minimize the amount of time it takes to get a criminal to the …show more content…
According to Bohm and Haley (2011), Gary Ridgway was allowed a plea bargain which kept him from being put to death for the murder of 48 people. In his plea bargain agreement with prosecutors, Ridgway received a life sentence, without the possibility of parole, for each of the 48 counts against him. In this case, the outcome will be the same in the end as Ridgway will die in prison but without the cost of an initial trial, and the expense of all of the appeals, which are automatic in a death penalty case. Due in part to these facts, I believe plea bargain will always be a part of our criminal justice system, and I agree that it should remain a part of the system. Imagine how overloaded our judicial system would be without plea bargaining and then there are the astronomical costs that would be associated with trying each case (Bohm & Haley, 2011, p.
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