plea

noun

• 1a request made in an urgent and emotional manner:he made a dramatic plea for disarmament
• a claim that a circumstance means that one should not be blamed for or should not be forced to do something:her plea of a headache was not entirely false

• 2 Law a formal statement by or on behalf of a defendant or prisoner, stating guilt or innocence in response to a charge, offering an allegation of fact, or claiming that a point of law should apply:he changed his plea to not guilty