ABSTRACT
A plea bargain is ‘a negotiated agreement between a prosecutor and a criminal defendant whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense or to one of multiple charges in exchange for some concession by the prosecutor, usu. a more lenient sentence or a dismissal of the other charges.’ 1 Plea bargains can be divided into two, namely charge bargaining and sentence bargaining. 2 In charge bargaining, ‘a prosecutor agrees to drop some of the counts or reduce the charge to a less serious offense in exchange for a plea of either guilty or no contest from the defendant’ 3 while in a sentence bargaining ‘a prosecutor agrees to recommend a lighter sentence in exchange for a plea of either guilty or no contest from the defendant.’ 4
