Prosecutors ‘coerce’ drug offenders into waiving their right to trial – human rights reportAFP Photo/Josep Lago US federal prosecutors often threaten drug offenders with decades of prison time in an effort to intimidate them into waiving their right to trial and agreeing to plead guilty, a Human Rights Watch investigation has determined. A whopping 97 percent of federal drug defendants agree to a plea bargain, foregoing their constitutionally-protected right to a fair trial.