system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do state attorneys work so hard to prosecute in criminal cases (e.g. fight for maximum sentences, portray defendants in negative light)? Why don't they just present the facts of the case as they're known to the state and leave the rest to the jurors?
gpt
Because that's how they're judged, professionally and socially. They're job is to prosecute, so they are measured by the results of that.

Additionally, it's a bargaining tactic. A vast majority of criminal cases are plea bargained. The point of plea bargaining is the defendant gets a lesser sentence and the prosecution doesn't have to spend the time and effort prosecuting the case. In order to offer a bargain for a lesser sentence, you have to threaten them with a harsher sentence. If they refuse the deal, then you have to follow through, or otherwise you lose the power to negotiate in the future.