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Plea Bargaining
The method of plea bargaining is widespread and used in many countries today and is practiced in most criminal justice systems. In plain terms, plea bargaining is the act of a defendant confessing guilty to negotiate with the prosecutor for a lesser charge. This action is very important in trial because this is how one pleads and only works if you are guilty. Plea bargains are usually used to speed up a trial or even to receive less sentence time for the defense. In cases, it prevents defendants from getting off in court because of evidence being scarce or there isn’t enough. “Plea bargaining creates a gap between practice and theory in the criminal justice system.” (Palermo et al, 1998).
In the United States, plea bargaining is an important factor in our criminal justice system and saves us an abundance of money when it is implied. Also, those who are witnesses have a lot less stress on their shoulders when it comes to trial. On the other, those who use the plea bargain method and are innocent are sometimes forced to plead guilty to receive less punishment than offered because of fear. It expected by the public for the truth to be discovered through the fact finding trial process. “In practice plea bargaining may prevent a public finding of the facts and substitute a behind the scenes cut short plea bargaining process that fashions an offence that may or may not be supported by the evidence and this also determines the variety of penalties available to the court and limits the discussion of the evidence,” (Palermo et al, 1998). The people often get upset because the guilty uses this to get off with less time for serious cases, such as murder. Plea bargaining helps our system because it reduces congestion inside the courts. Crimes are committed daily and will soon add up so using something that can save time really benefits us. Although, the prosecutor and defendant come to an agreement, the court still has to make the decision to accept the plea bargain or not. Once the agreement is signed, the defendant won’t have the chance to appeal for a later date. Prisons are more likely to be less cluttered because trials are over faster. Trial costs are reduced because of bargaining and it saves the defendants and taxpayers money. Although some feel that the use of plea bargaining in the courts is unfair, it is very beneficial to our criminal justice system. I feel that if it was not implied then the system will be overwhelmed and would fall shortly after because of the constant clutter. Even though it seems beneficial, the question of justice still remains in the minds of those who believe so.