Plea-bargaining is a legal process that allows individuals charged or convicted of a crime to negotiate a plea deal with prosecutors. In some jurisdictions, plea-bargaining is known as plea negotiations or plea deals. Other synonyms for plea-bargaining include plea bargaining, plea deal, sentence bargaining, charge bargaining, and plea mitigation. Plea bargaining allows defendants to avoid a lengthy trial and the possibility of a more severe sentence. It also helps the criminal justice system to operate more efficiently and to allocate resources effectively. While plea-bargaining is a controversial practice, it is widely used in many countries around the world.