[Dr. Franklin]

Never realized that. I thought she was just demoralized. I hope you’re right on that point.

The whole U.S. criminal justice system now works on plea deals. The prosecutor overcharges the criminal defendant, then except in the most heinous cases, offers a plea deal. The criminal defense attorney has an ethical duty to present that deal to his/her/its client. Defense attorneys benefit from those deals because it enables them to take more cases than if they all went to trial. A bad criminal defense attorney will cut back room deals contrary to the client's instructions. It's unethical, but many will do that. Not taking the plea deal can annoy the judge, who could impose a harsher sentence if the matter goes to trial.

The plea deal is a known quantity, which also saves the defendant the expense of his/her attorney. Taking the plea deal doesn't prevent the defendant from later attacking the sufficiency of the evidence, the jurisdiction of the court, prosecutorial misconduct in withholding exculpatory evidence, etc. As with Gen. Flynn, it can avoid additional expense and a harsher penalty. Innocent people do get bullied into taking the plea deal, often.

[freeandfreezing]

Taking the plea deal doesn't prevent the defendant from later attacking the sufficiency of the evidence, the jurisdiction of the court, prosecutorial misconduct in withholding exculpatory evidence, etc.

That's not true in general. A plea deal almost always ends any opportunity the defendant has to raise any issues or defenses.