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The Clarion Ledger's three-part series finds that "95 percent of all criminal cases are plea bargained, which is in line with the national average." However, it also found "a variety of instances of violent offenders serving little to no jail time. For example, in the review period of 132 days, we found nine instances of people charged with murder or manslaughter who served five years or less. We also found two instances where mistakes on the part of officials let one convicted felon go free an another serve far less jail time than he would have otherwise."