Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

Pleading Out by Dan Canon explores the prison system in the United States. What does it take for someone to "plead out"? Is the process too difficult? Too easy? Is it the same process for everyone or are there issues with race, class, sex, socioeconomic status, etc? Using different sets of resources, Canon shows us what happens behind the scenes and out of the public eye.

I won't lie, this book is kind of dry. I know non-fiction is not typically my cup of tea but I have recently gotten more into it. This one was rough. That's not to say it wasn't good. I believe it's mostly because it's just so pumped full of facts and isn't that what we want? Interesting read and I would recommend.

I loved reading this book! I found the writing to be very insightful and interesting. I was intrigued by the premise and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

Scant Documentation Makes A Weaker Case. First, I generally agree with the author's overall points here, even while disagreeing with his more leftist slants on a lot of his recommendations - unionizing prison inmates among them. But even in cases such as here where I generally agree, I have a history of judging a book based on the actual merits of the actual arguments and verifications therein, and this book simply doesn't hold up. Its Bibliography (at least in the Advance Review Copy form) is barely 15% of the text, which is about half the norm and maybe 1/3 the length of the Bibliography of truly well documented treatises. And while the author's career experience as a litigating attorney can account for some of it, even here - provide at least some documentation for your claims, so that those who *don't* have that background can verify them. But the lack of documentation is the primary argument here for overall lack of persuasiveness. Furthermore, another star was deducted for ultimately not satisfying the overall premise as laid out in the description - which admittedly is a combined effort of both author and publisher, and not always in the author's hands. Still, the description here proposes that the book argues that plea bargaining "produces a massive underclass of people who are restricted from voting, working, and otherwise participating in society"... and while Canon occassionally makes reference to this, he never really establishes that particular line of reasoning here. Indeed, for *that* side of the criminal justice system there really are a few other vastly superior texts that have released over the last few years. Instead, Canon more takes these as a given - again, with little documentation - and argues - with little documentation - that plea bargaining is the chief cause of this. As stated at the beginning of this review, while I *generally* agree with this line of reasoning, I simply expect a better documented (and ultimately more evenly argued) presentation of this, particularly in a book released to a wide audience, including those who may be predisposed to *not* agreeing with the argument for any number of reasons. Still, ultimately a worthy read that at least adds yet another voice to the conversation, and for that reason it is very much recommended.

Let me first say that I am not involved in the legal profession, so I was not prepared for what Dan Canon dropped in front of my eyes with Pleading Out. You see, in legal shows on television, you get the idea that they offer you a plead deal when they don't have enough evidence to charge you with the crime you actually committed but because you are a danger to society and you have committed a crime they must keep you behind bars. When I tell you that plea deals are not that at all in the actual situation that we live in. Dan Canon gives you every single argument you can ever have regarding oversight of judges, police officers, and prosecutors, let's not forget those "overworked" defense attorneys that don't bother to properly represent their clients. Plea deals are taking away our constitutional right to have a trial and to have a jury "of our peers", (I put that in quotation marks because we've seen how they even mess that up). Dan Canon is letting the public know that this is happening, that the justice system is failing its citizens, and we should be appalled by it, I know I am. Pleading Out made me see things more clearly and I hope everyone gets a chance to read this book because there has to be something that can be done as mere citizens regarding this attack, we need to hold these entities responsible, whether it's with our vote, the people need access to some sort of directory to check the status of whomever you are paying to represent you or even who is told to represent you. The prosecutors that punish because the individual chooses to take the case to trial should no longer be commended by the police or anyone for that matter, this isn't a competition of who lands more people in jail, it needs to stop and we need to find a way for this to stop before it gets worst and I find that it's very close to that worst part than we can ever begin to imagine. Thank you to Dan Canon for writing Pleading Out, for outlining all of the things that need our attention.