Article: What does a life sentence mean?

Gershwin A. Drain
Michigan Chronicle
03-07-1995
What does a life sentence mean?.

By Gershwin A. Drain

(First part of a two-part series)

Occasionally we see on television, hear on the radio or read in the newspaper about someone who was given a life sentence and released from custody after serving 10, 15 or 20 years in prison. Usually when we hear this it's about a case from another state.

Dozens of life sentences are imposed on defendants annually by judges across the state of Michigan. When this occurs a question is frequently asked by the public, "What does a life sentence mean?"

In Michigan there are two types of life sentences provided under the law, life without parole and life with parole.

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