I propose that the Government immediately abolish the institution of plea bargaining, which allows defendants to receive a reduced sentence in exchange for a guilty plea.
The recent high-profile cases of accused tycoons who negotiated very low sentences with the prosecutor, and who were even publicly praised by the prosecutor for being a model of honesty, show that this institution can be a major corruption risk, as it is mainly the very wealthy defendants who get away with low sentences.
I believe that the penalty has nothing to do with the guilty plea and should depend only on the seriousness of the crime. The institution of a guilty plea thus represents an escape route for wealthy defendants, but on the other hand, it puts additional pressure on less wealthy defendants, who are sometimes more likely to opt for a guilty plea and a lower sentence because they simply cannot afford to prove their innocence in criminal proceedings.