1) n. the punishment given to a person convicted of a crime. A sentence is ordered
by the judge, based on the verdict of the jury (or the judge's decision if there
is no jury) within the possible punishments set by state law (or federal law in
convictions for a federal crime). Popularly, "sentence" refers to the jail or prison
time ordered after conviction, as in "his sentence was 10 years in state prison.
" Technically, a sentence includes all fines, community service, restitution or
other punishment, or terms of probation. Defendants who are first offenders without
a felony record may be entitled to a probation or pre-sentence report by a probation
officer based on background information and circumstances of the crime, often resulting
in a recommendation as to probation and amount of punishment. For misdemeanors (lesser
crimes) the maximum sentence is usually one year in county jail, but for felonies
(major crimes) the sentence can range from a year to the death penalty for murder
in most states. Under some circumstances the defendant may receive a "suspended
sentence," which means the punishment is not imposed if the defendant does not get
into other trouble for the period he/she would have spent in jail or prison; "concurrent
sentences," in which the prison time for more than one crime is served at the same
time and only lasts as long as the longest term; "consecutive sentences," in which
the terms for several crimes are served one after another; and "indeterminate" sentences,
in which the actual release date is not set and will be based on review of prison
conduct. 2) v. to impose a punishment on a person convicted of a crime.
See also capital punishment indeterminate sentence restitution suspended sentence
law dictionary, legal
dictionary, online law dictionary, legal terms dictionary,
online legal dictionary, legal definition, legal
terms and definition, Best online Dictionary, Law
Dictionary Software, Download Law Dictionary, law
dictionary, legal dictionary, online law dictionary,
legal terms dictionary, online legal dictionary,
legal definition, legal terms and definition, Best
online Dictionary, Law Dictionary Software, Download
Law Dictionary
