It’s common to read criticisms of the justice system in that regard. If the DA is able to construe a set of charges carrying a maximum multi-year or even multi

It’s common to read criticisms of the justice system in that regard. If the DA is able to construe a set of charges carrying a maximum multi-year or even multi-decade custodial sentence, and when the option of not even being able to be considered for parole can be added as a condition of your sentence — no matter what kind of prison behavior you show, or how you respond as a prisoner to rehabilitation or reconciliation programs — then the plea bargaining process itself begins to seem a lot like an extrajudicial and unconstitutional trial of the kind one is surprised a moral society would endorse.