Plea bargains bother me, in general, because they conflate two distinct ideas:
1) I am guilty of the charges
2) I believe I am not guilty, but I believe that I will be found guilty, nonetheless. To limit my risk of a bad outcome, I'm pleading guilty to lesser charges.
These are very, very different. Number (2) is actually an indictment of the system, not of the accused.
They are also disturbing because they increase maximum prison times.
If real criminals are getting short sentences (because they were smart, and took a plea bargain), then politicians will be forced to increase sentences. Eventually, you reach a state where the maximum sentences are insanely high, to compensate for the fact that criminals will always get them discounted.
In the US, an "Alford plea"[1] is a clearer vehicle for a protestation of actual innocence wrapped in a plea of legally guilty (or at least convict-able).
1) I am guilty of the charges
2) I believe I am not guilty, but I believe that I will be found guilty, nonetheless. To limit my risk of a bad outcome, I'm pleading guilty to lesser charges.
These are very, very different. Number (2) is actually an indictment of the system, not of the accused.
Is there a way to formally declare (2)?