participating State where relevant statistical data is available, the dangers posed by a lack of incriminating evidence becomes evident. Numerous individuals have ultimately been exonerated, on the basis of subsequent DNA evidence, after having initially pled guilty.120 In fact, it is reported that 18 per cent of those exonerated initially plead guilty to crimes they were ultimately found not to have committed.121 These exonerations raise questions about the quality of investigations and the standard of evidence required in plea bargains, and other trial-waver programmes, for the entire OSCE region. 54. The most common safeguard with regard to trial waivers is legal assistance. With only one exception, in all of the countries surveyed, legal assistance is mandatory for plea bargains.122 The level and scope of mandatory legal assistance varies from country to country, however. For example, in most countries surveyed, the law states that the participation of a defence lawyer is mandatory during the signing or conclusion of a plea deal.123 This does not necessarily mean, however, that the lawyer is present during the initial police interview or questioning, as the conclusion of a plea agreement may take place after a suspect or accused person has already confessed guilt. Among the countries surveyed, one OSCE participating State in South Eastern Europe does have a legal requirement to have a lawyer present during interviews and when testifying in order to plead guilty.124 55. In a North American OSCE participating State, reliance on plea bargains has become particularly pervasive, where between 2012 and 2019, 97 per cent of federal cases annually were resolved via trial waiver, a system that is one of the least regulated in the world.125 The powers of prosecutors to threaten suspects with additional charges or harsher sentences when going to trial – known as “the trial penalty” – may put undue pressure on the individual in question.126 In other OSCE participating States, there are limitations on the types of cases that can be subject 120 National Registry of Exonerations, “Innocents Who Plead Guilty”, (2015). 121 The Innocence Project, “Why Do Innocent People Plead Guilty to Crimes They didn’t Commit?” (2018). 122 Questionnaire responses (2019); the only exception from those OSCE participating States surveyed is Poland. 123 Questionnaire responses from CSOs, including Armenia, Georgia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania (2019). 124 Questionnaire response Human Rights Association (Turkey) (2019). 125 United States Sentencing Commission’s 2016–2020 Sourcebooks of Federal Sentencing Statistics. 126 For more information on the trial penalty, see National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, “The Trial Penalty: The Sixth Amendment Right to Trial on the Verge of Extinction and How to Save It”, (2018). 40