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Notes -
In reading court opinions, it is routine to see sentences like "15 years with a 7.5-year parole bar", "16 years with the possibility of parole after 8 years", or "5 to 10 years".
Today, I was somewhat surprised to learn that parole is, not the exception, but the norm. According to federal statistics, the typical state prisoner serves only 44 percent of the sentence nominally imposed.
Do the illustrious lawyer denizens of this website have an opinion on this? Should a sentence of "16 years with the possibility of parole after 8 years of good behavior" be rephrased to "8 years with the possibility of extension to 16 years upon bad behavior", to avoid confusion?
No, for the same reason that a product/service should be "Regular $10, on sale for $5!" instead of "Regular $5, surge pricing to $10!". The headline number you choose matters, and if you go worse than the baseline you had better be prepared to rigorously defend your choice.
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