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Speak Up! - View Question #385 |
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Question: How long is a Life Sentence?
Answer: A life sentence lasts for the rest of that person's natural life. This means that if the person is convicted and sentenced at 30 years old, he will remain in prison until he dies, which could be 50 or more years. If a person is convicted at age 60 and receives a life sentence, he will remain in prison until his death which could be only 10 or 20 years.
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| 6 thru 10 of 32 comments |
On 01/21/08
Lise from FL said:
I don't understand how a "life sentence" in one instance means an actual serving of the rest of your life in prison, whereas in or instances a "life sentence" means that they can actually be paroled after "X" amount of years. Why doesn't "life" mean "life?" I am confused.
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On 11/27/07
Chip from VA said:
how do people serve two life sentences? like the movie "shawshank redemtion"
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On 09/11/07
AL from WI said:
They reduce someones life sentence to a term on house arrest? i really dont buy that.
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On 08/20/07
Sherif from Othr said:
I am Sherif from Egypt. In Egypt we do not have a life sentece because we still have death sentences executed by hanging. The longest term we have in Egypt is 25 years and foreign media tend to call it life sentence.
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On 08/21/06
Jessica from VA said:
In the United States, the definition varies from one U.S. state to another. Life imprisonment often lasts until the prisoner dies, especially in cases where life imprisonment is imposed as alternative to the death penalty. It is also usual that life terms are given in sentences that are intentionally longer than how long the prisoner is expected to live, e.g. a 200-year sentence for multiple counts of murder. In contrast to that, there are also many states where a convict can be released on parole after a decade or more has passed. For example, sentences of "15 years to life" .
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