1,903
30
Essay, 2 pages (400 words)

Plea bargaining

Plea Bargains and Morality A plea bargain is an agreement where the prosecutor offers the defendant an opportunity to plead guilty to lesser charge, often in exchange for a lesser punishment. There are multiple moral issues that arise regarding plea bargains. The first has to do with the concern that plea-bargaining provides too much leniency for the guilty. If the purpose of the justice system is to deter crime, then it must administer punishments that are harsher than the perceived benefit of committing that crime. For example, it would be foolish to administer a one hundred dollar fine to someone for embezzling one thousand dollars.
However, if the criminal knows he will most likely be pleading guilty to a lesser crime than the crime he is committing, the punishment for the lesser crime might not be enough to prevent him from committing it. While I agree that it is certainly true that many criminals will get away with a lesser charge, I think the harm caused by this is mitigated by the fact that more guilty criminals will be convicted. This is because it seems that someone who knows they are guilty is likely to accept a lesser charge, even if there is a possibility they will be acquitted.
The second issue has to do with the concern that innocent people will plead guilty to lesser crimes. Although the defendant may know he is innocent, instead of maintaining this position, he may feel coerced into accepting the plea bargain. The innocent person may feel it’s not worth the risk to face the greater charge, and feel almost forced to plead guilty to a charge he never committed. I agree this is a serious moral issue, for if large amounts of people are pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit, then the credibility of our justice system is undermined.
Despite moral criticisms plea bargains continue to play a key role in our justice system. Prosecutors still often benefit from the ability to get more convictions, while defense attorneys benefit from being able to get their clients a better deal. Perhaps more regulation needs to be provided to prevent coercion of innocent people. It’s doubtful though, that plea-bargaining will ever be eliminated from our legal system completely, and it will likely remain important.
Works Cited
Freedom, Morality, Plea Bargaining, and the Supreme Court,” Philosophy and Public Affairs. 8: 3 (1979): 203-232

Thank's for Your Vote!
Plea bargaining. Page 1
Plea bargaining. Page 2
Plea bargaining. Page 3

This work, titled "Plea bargaining" was written and willingly shared by a fellow student. This sample can be utilized as a research and reference resource to aid in the writing of your own work. Any use of the work that does not include an appropriate citation is banned.

If you are the owner of this work and don’t want it to be published on AssignBuster, request its removal.

Request Removal
Cite this Essay

References

AssignBuster. (2022) 'Plea bargaining'. 26 September.

Reference

AssignBuster. (2022, September 26). Plea bargaining. Retrieved from https://assignbuster.com/plea-bargaining-essay-samples-4/

References

AssignBuster. 2022. "Plea bargaining." September 26, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/plea-bargaining-essay-samples-4/.

1. AssignBuster. "Plea bargaining." September 26, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/plea-bargaining-essay-samples-4/.


Bibliography


AssignBuster. "Plea bargaining." September 26, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/plea-bargaining-essay-samples-4/.

Work Cited

"Plea bargaining." AssignBuster, 26 Sept. 2022, assignbuster.com/plea-bargaining-essay-samples-4/.

Get in Touch

Please, let us know if you have any ideas on improving Plea bargaining, or our service. We will be happy to hear what you think: [email protected]