Kaelyn Thimons

Ms. Thomson
AP English Language & Composition
January 31, 2018

Should plea bargaining be abolished in the United States criminal justice system?

America stands on the forefront and foundation of freedom, equality, and justice.

Anything that violates these values should therefore be abolished due to contradicting ideals. The

United States criminal justice system is intended “to deliver justice for all, by convicting and

punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent.” (Crime

and Justice) Plea bargaining violates the criminal justice system. Through plea bargaining, the

defendant can escape the uncertainty of a trial and receive lesser time for their punishments,

therefore running away from their problems.. To be a country that thrives and lives off the

foundation of justice in our criminal justice systems, we must be able to give convicted felons

the suitable sentence for their crime, rather than evading their sentence. Plea bargaining should

be abolished in the United States criminal justice system.

Plea bargaining is unjust and unconstitutional. The Sixth Amendment “guarantees the

rights of criminal defendants, including the right to a public trial without unnecessary delay,

the right to a lawyer, the right to an impartial jury, and the right to know who your accusers

are and the nature of the charges and evidence against you.” (Cornel Law School) Plea

bargaining eliminates trial and is completed without a jury present. The only people present in a

plea bargain hearing are the defendant, the prosecuting attorney (usually court appointed), and

the judge. In a plea bargain, the prosecuting attorney is not responsible for composing a case

with the crimes and charges against said defendant. With this goes the fact that the defendant

may be unaware of who [their]accusers are and the natures of the charges and evidence against

them. Therefore, plea bargaining is unconstitutional because it violated the Sixth Amendment of
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the Constitution. This practice is simply unjust. Criminals deserve to serve the full sentence for

the crimes they commit, making plea bargaining unjust as well.

Plea bargaining is why many in the United States jail systems are innocent people. On

August 1, 2006, Herbert Fields, a 70 year old man from New Haven, Connecticut, was leaving

the bank and was shot while starting up his car. Witnesses stated that they saw two black males

flee the scene. The detectives on the case narrowed down the unknown subject pool to a 16 year

old boy named Bobby Johnson whom was created scapegoat by his 14 year old cousin Kwame

Wells-Jordan. Detectives Quinn and Willoughby conducted an unauthorized interview with

Johnson outside the presence with his parents, which indeed did violate his rights. Johnson was

indeed innocent while Wells-Jordan was guilty. In order to protect his cousin, whom was being

scouted by Division I recruits for basketball, Johnson pled guilty. In July of 2007, he was

sentenced to 30 years in prison through plea bargaining. Because there was no further

investigation completed, Johnson served time until three years later he filed for an attorney to

prove his innocence and he was released from prison and his charge was dismissed. Because

there was no further investigation or court case completed, Bobby Johnson could not stand a

chance in court due to the fact that nobody would testify on his behalf in court. His court

appointed lawyer coerced him into taking the plea bargain because he thought Johnson didn’t

have a fighting chance with no one to testify for his innocence. Once Johnson was released he

proclaimed Bobby Johnson is not the only innocent person locked behind bars. Once convicted

of a crime, it is extremely difficult to convince others of one’s innocence, therefore through plea

bargaining, a number of innocent citizens are placed in jail. “About 95% of felony convictions in

the United States (and at least as many misdemeanor convictions) are obtained by guilty pleas,

but only 15% of known exonerees honestly pled guilty” (Umich Law).
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In accordance to the previous statement, coercion by the prosecuting attorney presents

itself as a large issue when it comes to plea bargaining in the United States criminal justice

system. Coercing the defendant goes along with exploiting the defendant. The exploitation of the

defendant is when the prosecuting attorney will coerce the defendant to accept the plea, receive

less jail time, so the case will not have to go to trial. This serves as a way for the prosecuting to

take the easy way out. Through plea bargaining, the prosecuting attorney is unable to complete

their job as intended to do. They do not build up a case, collect information, or go to court. All

they have to do is use the power of persuasion to convince the defendant to accept the plea

bargain through coercion. By attorneys offering plea bargains, they save themselves time and

make their workload easier so they don’t have to actually do their job and fight for justice Both

parties indeed end up taking the easy way out. The defendant committed a crime and receives

less jail time. In what democratic society is this fair? The answer is none. If a defendant who

committed murder were to be presented with thirty years behind bars with no trial versus a

sentence that stated the defendant must serve sixty to life, the defendant is most likely to accept

the plea bargain. There are many shortcuts one may take in life, but committing such a heinous

crime should have possible shortcuts in the process. Those who commit the crime, must serve the

time. It is the prosecuting attorney’s job to fight for justice, not let off defendants easier. Taking

the easy way out and not facing the punishment for one’s actions, along with the coercion of the

defendant is simply unjust and has no place in the criminal justice system.

It is through plea bargaining that releases convicted felons back into the world before

their intended sentence time has been completed. This is most likely seen in cases where drugs

are the reason for one’s conviction. “97% of 25,000 drug offenders are prosecuted each year

though plea bargaining.” (HRW) 24,250 cases involving the defendants cause for arrest being
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drugs are accepted through plea bargaining. Mary Beth Looney was arrested on

methamphetamine possession. Not only did they find fifty grams of methamphetamine but three

unregistered firearms in her home. She was offered a plea bargain and accepted the bargain

which included eight years in prison (less than what one must receive for such a crime). Upon

her release from jail, with no parole granted, Mary Beth Looney fell right back into drug

trafficking and use. One year later she was arrested again, went to trial for her second conviction,

and received proper sentencing for her crime. Her release date was when she reached 98 years of

age or death. There are punishments for crimes for a reason, to teach one a lesson as done to

adolescents. Because there was no trial and jury present, she was not granted a parole officer nor

was it mandatory that she visit a drug rehabilitation center or counseling cession to get her life

back on track.

Those in favor of the role plea bargaining plays in the United States criminal justice

system may say that plea bargaining is more cost effective and efficient time wise. Plea

bargaining is more cost effective in the sense that the defendant will not have to pay the costly

fees of a trial. It saves time in courts due to the fact that trial will not be taking place, a jury does

not have to be summoned, and the prosecuting and defending attorney will not have to compose

cases to either prosecute or defend the defendant. This is not to say that the criminal justice

system cannot properly run without plea bargaining, because it can. In 1975, the state of Alaska

and the Alaska Judicial Council prohibited plea bargaining. In this trial period of a state without

plea bargaining, crime rated dropped. In 1991, Alaska reverted into allowing plea bargaining in

their state as did the entirety of the United states criminal justice system. Once the trial period

came to an end, it was found that: “the standard for screening of cased was tightened, resulting in

a dramatic increase in the number of cases not accepted for prosecution, routine sentence
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recommendations for a specific term were virtually eliminated soon after the ban and have not

returned, and that charge bargaining was substantially curtailed for years but has become steadily

more prevalent” (AJC State) due to the plea bargain ban. Alaska’s statewide economy did not

plummet due to common belief which was proven wrong in this trial. Prison over crowding is a

constant issue in the United States criminal justice system and is believed to have been caused by

the eliminating or reducing of plea bargain deals. It is believed that prison overcrowding is

relieved because it keeps prisoners flowing in and out of jails rather than keeping prisoners

confined in cells for maximum sentencing. Pro-plea bargainers believe that with prison

overcrowding comes fighting and violent flare ups between prisoners. On the contrary, plea

bargaining is not an exact cause of these violent episodes. Euro.who.int states that prison fighting

is mainly caused by years of confinement. Testosterone builds up in men and it’s their instinct to

result in physical altercations. For women, the main cause for revolts is lack of sexual

intercourse. This goes to prove that plea bargaining can be abolished in the United States

criminal justice system and will still have the ability to perform correctly.

Plea bargaining should be abolished in the United States criminal justice system. Plea

bargaining is unconstitutional and unjust. Not only does it violate the United States Constitution,

but it contradicts the core value of the United States criminal justice system; justice. It cheats the

system by allowing prosecuting attorneys to use the power of coercion and allowing the

defendants to receive the minimal jail time for a heinous crime. Felons are released back into

communities and society without being taught a lesson or received outsider help. Plea bargaining

should be abolished in the United States criminal justice to demonstrate the integrity and identity

that makes up the United States of America.

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Works Cited

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Mayeux, Sara. “The Unconstitutional Horrors of Prison Overcrowding.” Newsweek, 22 Mar. 2016,

www.newsweek.com/unconstitutional-horrors-prison-overcrowding-315640.

National Registration of Exonerations. “Innocents Who Plead Guilty .” Umich Law Review.

“Plea Bargain | The Record.” The Marshall Project, www.themarshallproject.org/records/547-

plea-bargain.

“Plea Bargains – the Unfair Difference between 10 Years and Life.” Human Rights Watch, 4 Dec. 2013,

www.hrw.org/news/2013/12/04/plea-bargains-unfair-difference-between-10-years-and-life.

Staff, LII. “Sixth Amendment.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 5 Feb. 2010,

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Sullivan , Sara. “Confronting Race and Justice in Mass Incarceration .” Vera Institute of Justice ,

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