What exactly is a plea bargain?

[ekinney]

What is the name of your state? Tennessee I am new to this legal stuff. My daughter tried to plea bargain at her last court review. She has a public defender and she is charged with child neglect and aggraveted child neglect. She plead guilty to the charges and then the DA read the charges and she tried to tell the judge that she wasn't guilty of everything the DA read. The judge would not accept the plea bargain and he said he felt that she didn't think she was guily? What I want to know is what exactly is a plea bargain and why are people allowed to do them to get out of something they are guilty of?

 

[stephenk]

a plea bargain is when a defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a lesser charge than what they were originally charged with in order to get a shorter jail sentence, shorter probation period, etc.

A prosecutor may offer such a deal because the original case may have weakness that would result in an acquittal, or to spare a child from having to testify, etc.