In the US judicial system after a person is convicted and are at sentencing, why are some sentences (as an example) “25 years to life”? What does that mean in practice and why are some sentences exact times and others are ranges?
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In the past many states had indeterminate sentencing, meaning that the convicted would not know how long his sentence would be. This was a carry over from English common law. The sentencing authority could essentially keep him in custody for however long it wanted.
Eventually, our society came to realize that this was cruel punishment and didnt seve any peneological interest. I believe that every state has adopted some form of sentencing scheme that imposes statutory maximums and minimum sentences before the defendant is eligible for parole. In my state, Pennsylavania, the maximum sentence must be at least twice the minimum, though it could be more. Thus, if there’s a 5 year mandatory minimum, the shortest sentence is 5 to 10, but it could be 5 to 20, or whatever the statutory max is.
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