Call a plea bargain a distortion or corruption of due process, but even with plea bargains, due process is far less bad than extortion.

Plea bargains, within limits and when not abused are also sensible for both sides. An accused who is guilty can benefit from a years-lighter sentence by saving the prosecutor's office thousands of hours of work by taking a bargain. Or, they can always decline the bargain, go to trial, and potentially walk away acquitted, or be subject to the full legal penalty if convicted.

Where plea bargains go horribly wrong is when used against the innocent as a means of coercion to extract a conviction, and yes, that is extortion-like and a corruption of due process.

> Plea bargains, within limits and when not abused are also sensible for both sides.

I disagree completely. The purpose of a just court is to establish what happened and administer appropriate punishment regardless of what either side thinks or what is convenient for them. Without this basic honesty the whole system is a mockery.