Eli5: Why does the US justice system hand out sentences longer than anyone can possibly live?

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Reports on the Ron Jeremy trial state he could be sentenced to between 250 years to life in jail. This seems nonsensical considering 250 years more than amounts to life in jail.

Why not just sentence him to the rest of his natural life in jail if found guilty. What’s the benefit of considering an incredibly long and impossible sentence?

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

He is being charged with multiple crimes, each will have their own sentence. He is being tried by the state of California, and I am unsure if their sentences would run concurrently or not.

Note that while most criminal courts in the US are fairly similar in nature, there is no one “system.” Each state has their own set of criminal law and their own justice system which are independent of each other. While they all must abide by a relatively few constitutional restrictions they are very much free to operate as the state wishes.

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