Back-to-back life sentences refers to the imposition upon a defendant of two or more consecutive life terms. A one-life sentence imposes an obligation on a defendant to serve 15 to 25 years in prison until the eligibility of parole. The sentence depends on the gravity of the crime and on the jurisdiction in which the defendant is tried. Parole is usually granted to individuals who have displayed good behavior. However, the possibility of parole does not guarantee release.
Back-to-back life sentences arise when there are two or more crimes committed by the defendant. The combination of multiple sentences would lead to an increase of years until a defendant is eligible for parole. One of the main purposes ofback-to-back life sentences is also to limit the eligibility of defendants to parole, increasing the number of years they must serve.
Some cases involving the imposition of back-to-back life sentences include:
- Terry Nichols is serving 161 life sentences and 9,3000 years without parole for first degree murder, arson, terrorism, and manslaughter for his role in the Oklahoma City Bombing.
- Michael J Devlin: serving 74 life sentences for multiple counts of kidnapping, armed criminal action, forced sodomy, child pornography, attempted murder, etc.
- Gary Ridgway, also known as the “Green River Killer” is serving 48 life sentences for having murdered women between 1982 and 1998. Ridgeway claims to have murdered up to 80 women, but pled guilty to 48 murders, being the most prolific serial killer in US history.
See: Gmerek v. State, 781 S.W.2d 575 (Mo. Ct. App. 1989)
See also: life without possibility of parole; Consecutive sentence; Concurrent sentence
[Last updated in December of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
FAQs
What is back to back life sentence? ›
Back-to-back life sentences refers to the imposition upon a defendant of two or more consecutive life terms. A one-life sentence imposes an obligation on a defendant to serve 15 to 25 years in prison until the eligibility of parole.
How many years is 2 consecutive life sentences? ›If a criminal was handed a consecutive life sentence, then they will need to complete another twenty years before they are eligible for release, making it a total of forty years served before the convict will be considered for parole.
What is 3 consecutive life sentences? ›What do 3 consecutive life sentences mean? It means the sentenece of life, each of them are to be served back to back. It is done so that if one is overturned there is still two more holding him there.
Why do some people get multiple life sentences? ›In judicial practice, back-to-back life sentences are two or more consecutive life sentences given to a felon. This penalty is typically used to minimize the chance of the felon being released from prison. This is a common punishment for a defendant convicted of multiple murder in the United States.
How long is a life without parole sentence? ›This is a prison sentence given to a convicted defendant in which they will remain in prison for their entire life and will not have the ability to a conditional release before they complete this sentence (see Parole).
What's the point of consecutive life sentences? ›To satisfy the victums , and ensure that he was never paroled . A life sentence does not mean the rest of your life .. but rather the term in that state which reflects the time it takes to become a new person and hopefully rehabilitate . ( it is about 17 years in CA ).
Can life sentences run consecutively? ›The court can order a determinate sentence to run consecutively to an indeterminate sentence. The determinate sentence will commence on the expiry of the minimum term of the indeterminate sentence and the offender will become eligible for a parole review after serving half of the determinate sentence.
How long is 5 consecutive life sentences? ›Each defendant has to live out each life they've been sentenced before they get parole. So if someone is sentenced to 5 life sentences that means they face 75 years before parole.
What does it mean by two life sentences? ›That is, if a prisoner twice condemned to life gets remission or his first life sentence is commuted, the second life sentence immediately kicks in and depriving him of the ability to enjoy the benefit of the remission or commutation of the first life sentence.
Can life sentences be stacked? ›Quebec Determines Consecutive Life Sentences are not Constitutional. The criminal justice system in Canada is continually evolving to be more suitable for those accused of crimes. A recent decision from Quebec has determined that consecutive life sentences are not constitutional.
How long exactly is a life sentence? ›
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Some countries have life imprisonment sentences as 25 years, such as the USA.
How do judges decide between concurrent and consecutive sentences? ›Judges have the authority to decide a defendant's sentence, however, federal law requires that the default rule is for concurrent sentences, unless the state statute calls for consecutive sentences or the judge thinks a consecutive sentence is the best course of action.
Why do judges give 1000 years? ›Sentencing laws vary across the world, but in the United States, the reason people get ordered to serve exceptional amounts of prison time is to acknowledge multiple crimes committed by the same person.
What is the most life sentences ever given? ›Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national, was handed the equivalent of 40 life sentences plus an additional 1,368 years for perpetrating the 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting. Received 40 convictions of sexual assault for abusing three teenage girls. Serial rapist and former physician who practiced medicine in Arkansas.
What does 25 to life mean as a sentence? ›25 years to life tends to mean a prison sentence. The convict is sentenced to live their life in prison for 25 years or possibly to the end of their life.
How often do life sentences get parole? ›State data shows that Brown's appointed parole board commissioners are granting parole to prisoners like Wimberly at a much higher rate than in the past. In 2008, just 8 percent of lifers' hearings resulted in parole; in 2013, it was 29 percent.
Why do judges sentence over 100 years? ›Sentencing laws vary across the world, but in the United States, the reason people get ordered to serve exceptional amounts of prison time is to acknowledge multiple crimes committed by the same person.
What is the difference between life sentence concurrently and consecutively? ›What's the difference between consecutive and concurrent sentencing? When sentences run consecutively, the defendant serves them back to back (one after the other). When they run concurrently, the defendant serves them at the same time.
Can you get 2 life sentences? ›Most often, multiple life sentences arise in murder cases involving multiple victims. To take a situation involving the possibility of parole, suppose that a defendant is on trial for two murders. The jury convicts him of both, and the judge sentences him to consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole.
What are the 4 types of sentencing? ›Types of sentences include probation, fines, short-term incarceration, suspended sentences, which only take effect if the convict fails to meet certain conditions, payment of restitution to the victim, community service, or drug and alcohol rehabilitation for minor crimes.
What is the lowest jail sentence? ›
(By the way, where is my wallet?) ... the shortest official jail sentence ever imposed was one minute? Joseph Munch (1874-1907), a soldier who had become extremely disorderly while drunk off duty in Seattle in August of 1905, was brought before a municipal court judge on the charge.
What is the shortest life sentence? ›While in court, Judge Julian Lambert sentenced Jenkins to prison for 50 minutes. During this time, he was given a pen and paper and required to write letters of apology to the ones he had harmed.
What does 15 to life mean? ›Indeterminate Sentencing Law – ISL) An example of a life sentence with the possibility of parole is when an offender is sentenced to serve a term of “15 years to life.”
What is the longest life sentence in the US? ›In 1981, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA, Dudley Wayne Kyzer received the longest single sentence of 10,000 years for murdering his wife. He then received a further two life sentences for murdering his mother-in-law and a college student.
How can you serve 2 life sentences? ›The court can give an offender more than one life sentence. In case of high-risk offenders secure the court's approval on one of their appeals, they still have to stay behind bars to serve the prison terms for the remaining convictions.
What does a 20 years to life sentence mean? ›Let's take “20 years to life” for example. This means the absolute earliest the person could be released from prison is after 20 years of being in prison. Unless they do something to reduce the sentence, they'll have to do 20 years.
What does 40 years to life mean? ›What does 40 to life mean? Normally 40 to life means that person will do NO LESS than 40 years, and could do up to a life sentence which at last check is around 60 years or so in most places. Unless it's a natural life sentence, then the only way out is to die.
How many years is a life sentence in America? ›A life sentence from a federal court will therefore result in imprisonment for the life of the defendant unless a pardon or reprieve is granted by the President or if, upon appeal, the conviction is quashed.
Is life sentence only 15 years? ›A life sentence is any type of imprisonment where a defendant is required to remain in prison for all of their natural life or until parole. So how long is a life sentence? In most of the United States, a life sentence means a person in prison for 15 years with the chance for parole.
Is a life sentence 50 years? ›In the United States, people serving a life sentence are eligible for parole after 25 years. If they are serving two consecutive life sentences, it means they have to wait at least 50 years to be considered for parole.
How do judges decide sentence length? ›
A judge must impose a sentence that is sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to: reflect the seriousness of the offense; promote respect for the law; provide just punishment for the offense; adequately deter criminal conduct; protect the public from further crimes by the defendant; and provide the defendant with ...
How are concurrent sentences fair? ›If the court has determined that the sentences should be served concurrently, it will ensure the sentence to be served reflects the overall criminality. This can mean that the sentences for each individual offence are increased to reflect the presence of the other offences.
Can a sentence be changed from consecutive to concurrent? ›How Do Judges Decide Between Consecutive and Concurrent Sentencing? The default, under federal law, is for convicted individuals to serve their sentences concurrently. However, this can be altered if the statute calls for it. Ultimately, though, the decision comes down to the judge (or judges).
Do American prisoners serve their full sentence? ›The majority of prison sentences passed in court will include time to be served in prison and time to serve in the community. This means that a prisoner will not spend the whole of their sentence in prison. The exceptions are life and extended sentences which are regulated by different rules.
Can life without parole be overturned? ›The first and most direct opportunity a defendant has to challenge a life without the possibility of parole conviction is on direct appeal from the trial court's judgment. A challenge on direct appeal is based solely upon the happenings of the trial court proceedings, including any transcripts, exhibits, and motions.
What is the 13955 word sentence? ›The longest sentence award goes to: Jonathan Coe's The Rotter's Club, 13,955 word sentence.
Who is the oldest person to go to jail? ›...
Leroy Nash | |
---|---|
Criminal charge | Armed robbery, murder |
Name | Time Incarcerated | Incarcerated |
---|---|---|
Wilbert Jones | 44 years, 9 months, 9 days | 1973–2017 |
Vincent Simmons | 44 years, 6 months, 18 days | 1977-2022 |
Ronnie Long | 43 years, 10 months, 27 days | 1976-2020 |
Charles Finch | 42 years, 10 months, 22 days | 1976–2019 |
The “X” being how many years you will have to sit before seeing the Parole Board and the”To life” being how long you will stay if continually denied parole and if you are granted parole, you will be on parole the rest of your life.
How long is a life sentence plus 30 years? ›You have to serve 30 years before your eligible for parole. Just because your eligible for parole doesn't mean your gonna be paroled. Your sentence is 30 years to life with parole eligibility. That means you could stay in prison for the rest of your life if you don't get parole.
What does to life mean in sentencing? ›
Does life without parole mean forever? No one sentenced to life without parole has ever been released on parole, in California or in any other state. Prisoners sentenced to LWOP actually remain in prison for the rest of their lives and die in prison.
What are the two types of life sentences? ›For example, sentences of "15 years to life," "25 years to life," or "life with mercy" are called "indeterminate life sentences", while a sentence of "life without the possibility of parole" or "life without mercy" is called a "determinate life sentence".
How much is 15 consecutive life sentences? ›In the case of Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent who was a spy for the soviet and Russian services, he was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences which could mean more than 200 years before the chance of parole.
What is 25 to life sentence? ›“25 to life” means that the sentence will be a minimum of 25 years prison confinement, and can extend as long as the life of the inmate. “Without parole” means that they are not eligible for early release, and must serve the entire sentence.
What is a 20 to life sentence? ›Let's take “20 years to life” for example. This means the absolute earliest the person could be released from prison is after 20 years of being in prison. Unless they do something to reduce the sentence, they'll have to do 20 years.
Can you get out of a life sentence? ›The answer is no. Once a person is in prison, that is it. There is no way to get out except by expiration of sentence, or by death.
Is a life sentence permanent? ›Now, a life sentence means exactly that: permanent imprisonment. Louisiana's prisons today hold thousands of people with life sentences and no possibility of parole.
What is the difference between concurrent and consecutive life sentences? ›What's the difference between consecutive and concurrent sentencing? When sentences run consecutively, the defendant serves them back to back (one after the other). When they run concurrently, the defendant serves them at the same time.
How much time do you serve on a 5 year sentence in Texas? ›What can be determined is how long an offender must serve before the parole board will consider their case. If the offender was sentenced to five years for committing a 3(g) offense they must serve half of their sentence, two and a half years, before the parole board can consider them for parole.
What does 15 years to life mean? ›Indeterminate Sentencing Law – ISL) An example of a life sentence with the possibility of parole is when an offender is sentenced to serve a term of “15 years to life.”
What does 40 to life mean? ›
Normally 40 to life means that person will do NO LESS than 40 years, and could do up to a life sentence which at last check is around 60 years or so in most places.
How do you calculate life imprisonment? ›The Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 answers under section 57 that “in calculating fractions of terms of punishment, imprisonment for life shall be reckoned as equivalent to imprisonment for 25 years.” Therefore, considered that life imprisonment means imprisonment for maximum of 25 years.
Does life without parole mean forever? ›Life Without Parole (LWOP) Sentencing in California. Life without parole (“LWOP”) is a prison sentence in a California criminal case in which a convicted person is committed to state prison for the rest of his or her life without the possibility of parole.