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Simple English definitions for legal terms
back-to-back life sentences
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A quick definition of back-to-back life sentences:
Back-to-back life sentences means a person who committed multiple serious crimes can be sentenced to serve many life sentences one after the other. A life sentence means the person must stay in prison for a very long time, usually 15 to 25 years, before they can ask to be released. Back-to-back life sentences make it harder for the person to be released because they have to serve many more years in prison. Some people who got back-to-back life sentences did very bad things, like killing many people.
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: Back-to-back life sentences refer to when a defendant is given two or more consecutive life terms for committing multiple crimes. A life sentence usually means the defendant must serve 15 to 25 years in prison before being eligible for parole, but back-to-back life sentences can increase the number of years they must serve before being considered for parole. The purpose of back-to-back life sentences is to limit the possibility of parole for defendants who have committed multiple serious crimes.
- Terry Nichols was given 161 life sentences and 9,300 years without parole for his role in the Oklahoma City Bombing.
- Michael J Devlin was given 74 life sentences for multiple counts of kidnapping, armed criminal action, forced sodomy, child pornography, attempted murder, and more.
- Gary Ridgway, also known as the "Green River Killer," was given 48 life sentences for murdering women between 1982 and 1998.
These examples illustrate how back-to-back life sentences can be used to ensure that defendants who have committed multiple serious crimes serve a longer time in prison before being considered for parole.