Plea bargain

Imagine you did something wrong, like breaking a glass in the house. Your parents can get very mad and punish you a lot. But sometimes, you might want to make a deal with them to not get in as much trouble. That's kind of like what a plea bargain is.

A plea bargain is a deal that a person who is accused of a crime can make with the government or the court. Instead of going through a long and expensive trial where the person might get a bigger punishment if found guilty, they can agree to plead guilty to a lesser crime. This way, they might get a smaller punishment, like less time in jail or a smaller fine.

It's kind of like negotiating with your parents to do some extra chores to make up for breaking the glass, instead of getting grounded for a week. But just like with your parents, not every plea bargain will be accepted by the court or the government. They might think that the person is not being honest or that the crime was too serious to give a smaller punishment.