Faced with a draconian choice, many arrestees accept plea bargains.  Prosecutors can show them that, for instance, a federal drug sentence taken to court receives an average of 16 YEAR sentence.  Human Rights Watch concludes that average plea bargain for the same crime is 5 years, 4 months.  Who wants to gamble that way?  So citizen after citizen admits to a crime, bargains, and ends up in federal prison for 5 years.  Maybe some of them are guilty–probably are.  But how about those who are not?  We need to change our sentencing laws and make them reasonable for the crime.

http://www.thecrimereport.org/viewpoints/2014-01-how-plea-bargains-are-making-jury-trials-obsolete