A group of 24 organizations and advocates focused on criminal justice and civil rights have announced the launch of the End Trial Penalty coalition. 

The coalition focuses on reforming sentencing practices so prison time remains the same, whether a person chooses a plea deal or a trial. Currently, activists say the criminal justice system functions with a “trial penalty,” in which people accused of a crime who choose to go to trial face sentences that are often three times longer than those offered in plea deals. Criminal justice advocates argue that defendants who plead guilty are not given access to all evidence against them and their appeal rights are limited. Some defendants also say they feel pressure to accept a deal even when they’re innocent just to avoid a possible steep sentence at trial.

According to Reuters, the effort is complicated by the diffuse nature of the U.S. criminal justice system, with local, state, and federal courts. To enact significant reforms, the coalition will need to lobby Congress, state legislatures, courts, and local bar associations. According to the American Bar Association, nearly 98 percent of federal criminal cases in 2022 ended in plea deals.

The coalition includes the American Civil Liberties Union, the Innocence Project, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and Right on Crime. The coalition plans to advocate for the change locally and by state, partnering with impacted people and their families, community leaders, and local organizers. 

“Cases not going to trial effectively removes a critical check on our legal system: evidence goes unchallenged, law enforcement and government overreaches flourish, and while no one is immune to the trial penalty’s impact, it does affect people of color and the impoverished the most,” the coalition's website reads. 

“I’ve read transcripts in which judges say things like, if you plead before trial, you get mercy; after trial, you get justice,” Martín Sabelli, past president of NACDL, told NPR. “That’s a threat.”

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