yes there is a lot of plea-bargaining here in the states. The state and feds will pile multible charges against people in hopes that they will  plea-bargain. this reduces the amount of work the courts have to do. You must also realize what a big business prisons are in this country. Privately run prisons have become the vogue in the last 20 years and are part of the stock market. So the criminal justice system has a need to keep the jails full . The government pays between $30,000 and $40,000 dollars a year for each inmate. Its big, big business. instead of our prison being populated by the truly criminal (murderers,rapist ,thieves,sexual offenders) It is mostly populated by non-violent offenders such as drug users. Crime is big business.

  This still doesnt excuse anyone from committing actual offences,even those on the spectrum. It just points out the travesty of the american justice system.