I just became aware of the Women’s Criminal justice network.
Check it out. Here’s a link WCJN.
The home page features an article on the Tammy Traxtle case. It’s a glaring example of how plea deals are used by prosectors to make their cases, and the crushing punishment you can receive if you don’t “take the deal.”
This quote from the article: “The district attorney offered Tammy a deal. “Just say you saw Jeff shoot Carlos, and you’ll get 18 months. Take the plea, do the time, and soon you will be back to work and reunited with your children. It is a short sentence for a horrible crime. Cross us, go to court, and you will face the consequences. We will ask for life, you will do 25, and that is years, not months!””
Wrongful Convictions Blog 
Phil, Thank you for featuring the innocent and wrongfully convicted women, lost in the system, lost in the exonerations and not covered by the media.
Petition to Free Courtney Bisbee | Help Free an Innocent Woman | Change.org (over 40,900 supporters being ignored by the prosecutors)
Maricopa County, Arizona. New evidence – proof of her innocence and a scam for money has never been
heard in an Arizona Court. Why not? When this happens to Courtney, it can happen to anyone.
What does this say about Arizona’s justice system?
http://www.change.org/petitions/help-free-an-innocent-woman
Courtney Bisbee, AZ, was overcharged (stacked charges) in 2004, by the Maricopa County Attorney’s office top prosecutors (disbarred April 2012 for abuse of power) under then (Rick Romley – see Ray Krone, exoneree); charged with two, Class 2 felony counts for an alleged single incident of sexual “touching” in the afternoon, in a roomful of teenagers. She was facing 54-90 years (a defacto-life sentence). If she was guilty, she certainly would have taken a plea offer. But , Courtney, was innocent and took her case to trial. Her attorney was contacted by the “high-profile” Maricopa County prosecutor, who offered a probation eligible plea, when she heard that Courtney was switching attorneys. The “high-profile” first attorney coerced a plea bargain, when he told her that he discussed her case with his legal friends at the club, and they said she would be convicted by a jury. She was encouraged by her next “high-profile” Trial attorney (high profile criminal law firm forced to shut down for disciplinary reason) to have a Bench trial since he handled these cases and understood them. Courtney was sentenced to 11 years flat time (11 + 11 years to be served concurrently) with sex offender registry simply added – a life sentence in itself – ADDITIONAL punishment AFTER time served. We were told they used Courtney as an example, to scare off others so they wouldn’t go to trial.