Sentencing, Appeals, and the Death Penalty A. Sentencing 1.
Judges can impose a sentence of, for example, imprisonment, probation, and a fine.
If the offender already has spent weeks, months, or sometimes even years in jail awaiting trial, judges can give the offender credit for jail time and deduct that time from any prison sentence. When an offender is convicted of two or more crimes, judges can order the prison sentences to run concurrently or consecutively. Judges even can delay sentencing and retain the right to impose a sentence at a later date if conditions warrant. An indeterminate sentence has a fixed minimum and maximum term of incarceration, rather than a set period. A determinate sentence, on the other hand, has a fixed period of incarceration and eliminates the decision-making responsibility of parole boards.