I think that from a legal point of view there is no difference between the two. If you do an Alford plea then you still can’t appeal because you pleaded guilty.
The harsh and mild sentence part is a negotiation. The prosecution is interested in getting a plea deal because it saves time and resources and the defendant is interested in getting a lighter sentence if they’re pretty confident that they’ll be convicted anyway.
I think that from a legal point of view there is no difference between the two. If you do an Alford plea then you still can’t appeal because you pleaded guilty.
The harsh and mild sentence part is a negotiation. The prosecution is interested in getting a plea deal because it saves time and resources and the defendant is interested in getting a lighter sentence if they’re pretty confident that they’ll be convicted anyway.