The Pros and Cons of a Plea Bargain

Plea Bargain:

“The plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty or nolo contendere to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor. This may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge, or to one of the several charges, in return for the dismissal of other charges; or it may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence.”

Basically, a plea deal is a deal that is offered by a judge/prosecutor that the defendant can agree to by pleading guilty or can say no to, all pertaining to what they are being charged with. A plea deal can mean that one will plead guilty to a lesser charge than what they would go to trial for.

The important thing to remember in all of this is that when one takes a plea deal it means that they are admitting guilt.

The Pros of a Plea Bargain

The main benefit of plea deals is pleading to a lesser charge or a shorter sentence for the crime that has been committed. If the crime committed is minor, a plea deal would allow one to get out of jail sooner and tend to needs in their everyday life such as work and tending to kids; taking a plea bargain, in most cases allows one to have fewer charges on their record.

On the other hand, even if a person moves from jail to prison many see this as a benefit as they are now doing time and do not have to wait for trial in jail as “going to trial usually requires much more time in court than a plea bargain”. Taking plea bargain is also much less public than going through a long trial as well as money saving because lawyers do not have to hire for long periods of time.

Regarding the government, plea deals are helpful as they help with overcrowded jails filled with people awaiting trial. This also lightens the workload on prosecutors and allow them less conflict with the judge, who is constantly pushing for cases to go faster.

The Cons of a Plea Bargain

As said before when taking a plea bargain one automatically admits guilt, and therefore removes the right of having a trial by jury. Even though one of the advantages is pleading guilty to a lesser charge it doesn’t take away the fact that one now has a record which can make finding a job a lot harder. Not only do plea bargains take away your right to trial by jury, but it also takes away the chance for an appeal meaning one has no chance of getting out of the charge or sentence that they have confessed to.

Personal Opinion/Conclusion

In class, this was seen through Erma Faye Stewart who was one of the many people that were arrested in a major drug sweep based on information provided by a police informant. Taking a look into her life it was obvious why she took a plea bargain over staying in jail and awaiting trial. Her son was sick, she was an only mother and was already struggling to stay afloat before she was put in jail. In her eyes taking the plea bargain allowed her to go back to her son and continue to stay afloat. In the end, the police informant was deemed unworthy and all others who had not taken the plea were released, whereas Erma Faye had pleaded guilty to a felony making her poor situation worse. She no longer received food stamps, still had to pay her probation, and had a felony charge on her record for a crime she had never committed.

Erma Faye Stewart

I think that plea bargains have both a good and bad side to them but it depends on the defendant level of education along with wealth. This ties into the bigger issue that the justice system is rigged to benefit those with wealth. In Erma Faye's case I truly believe that if she was better educated on the system as well as wealthy enough to get her a good lawyer, and not a court-appointed one, she wouldn’t have taken the plea deal.

“The advantages and disadvantages of plea bargaining may get criminals off the streets, but it could also put innocent people into prison. It opens up a court schedule, but changes the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.”

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plea_bargain

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/the-benefits-plea-bargain.html

https://vittana.org/11-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-plea-bargaining