Sentencing Questions — Ask the Inmate
The moment a sentence is handed down, everything changes. Families who were focused on the trial or plea negotiations suddenly have a new set of urgent questions about what the sentence actually means in practice. How long will they actually serve? What facility will they go to? What is the difference between the sentence imposed and the time served? This section covers how federal and state sentencing guidelines work, what mandatory minimums mean and when they apply, how good time credits are calculated from the moment of sentencing, how the Bureau of Prisons designates a facility and whether families can influence that decision, what a split sentence means, and what the difference is between concurrent and consecutive sentences when multiple charges are involved. The guidance here translates the courtroom language into plain answers about what happens next. See also our sections on Sentence Reduction, Inmate Transfer, and General Prison Questions and Terminology.
Was this sentence related to a probation/parole violation? Normally, a 100% sentence is related to that - where the first act of leniency by the courts was not heeded, there is no second chance at freedom. If this is the Judgment and Commitment paper signed by the judge on the original case, then he will be entitled to the "automatic 15% good time credit" allotted to all inmates when they begin their bid. The inmates can only lose this by not
Read moreMinimum she will do is six years and the maximum is 20 years. If she does what she is supposed to do, while incarcerated, namely following the rules and programming recommendations. If she keeps herself out of trouble, she could be paroled in six years of so, pretty short sentence for manslaughter (i got 8 years for theft of marketing emails - no money lost, no money made from the crime - 8 years, federal prison).
Read morePlease explain "two years at 100%". Judges do not normally use that terminology. They might say, "24 months, no parole", but the length of time that the offender ultimately serves is up to the Department of Corrections and the inmate themselves. If you follow the rules and are a model prisoner, most sentences come with 15% good time granted at the time of incarceration.
Read moreThis depends on the previous criminal history of the offender. If this is not their first time, they will be looking at 2-5 in state prison.
Read moreYes, most sentences are only served to the 85% mark. Good time credit is 15% and given to every inmate as they enter prison, an inmate can only lose goodtime. On a 10-year state sentence or 120 month federal sentence, the sentence served would be 102 months. This providing that the inmate remain in good standing, not full of incident reports, disciplinary transfers, etc.
Read moreThis depends on the offender's criminal history, the value of the crime (how much was the street value), was anyone hurt, was a weapon present? Along with whether they plead or go to trial, all these elements are factors in the calculation and determination of the actual sentence imposed. If you would like to offer more information, we might be able to get a bit more specific.
Read moreDepends on the charges and criminal history. The Pre-Sentence Investigation yields a commitment recommendation called Pre-Sentence Report which details the case, and the offender's prior bad conduct (not just criminal, but civil misdeeds count against you, too). Ninety days is a cake walk, I remember when i had 90 days left on a 96 month sentence.
Read moreFederal court is like quicksand. The harder you struggle to prove your innocence, the deeper they pull you. There is no way to predict the outcome of your person's case, but the feds have an unlimited amount of money and once they get their hooks in you, it is reasonable to predict a win in court - they win 97% of the time.
Read moreWithout knowing more about your inmate's particular sentence, the mandatory minimum means exactly how it sounds. If the offender is guilty of a charge with a mandatory minimum sentence, the judge is pretty much duty-bound to follow the sentencing guidelines of the state. The judge does not get to interject his "judgement" if leniency is their preference, the law stops them from deviating.
Read moreThis is going to depend heavily on what the facts of this crime were that came out during the trial. How badly was the assaulted person hurt? Was there any property damage? The judge will consider his criminal history which is a big negative in this case, meaning that his priors will surely send him back. If the "damaging" facts are light, it could be a short sentence (3-5yrs); if it's a bad set of facts it could be a long time.
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