Legal Definitions - accumulative sentences

Accumulative sentences, also frequently referred to as consecutive sentences, describe a situation where a person convicted of multiple crimes is ordered to serve the prison terms for each crime one after the other, rather than at the same time. This means that the total time to be served is the sum of the individual sentences imposed for each separate offense.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Robbery and Assault

  Imagine a scenario where an individual commits an armed robbery of a convenience store and, during the commission of that crime, physically assaults the store clerk. If convicted of both armed robbery and assault, a judge might impose an accumulative sentence. For instance, the judge could sentence the individual to 7 years for the armed robbery and an additional 3 years for the assault. If these sentences are ordered to be accumulative, the person would serve the 7 years for the robbery first, and then immediately begin serving the 3 years for the assault, resulting in a total of 10 years in prison.

• Example 2: Multiple Thefts Over Time

  Consider a person who commits a series of distinct burglaries at different locations over several months. After being apprehended and convicted for three separate instances of burglary, the court could decide that the sentences for each burglary should be accumulative. If each burglary carries a 2-year sentence, an accumulative order would mean the individual serves 2 years for the first burglary, followed by 2 years for the second, and then 2 years for the third, leading to a total of 6 years of incarceration.

• Example 3: Drug Trafficking and Obstruction of Justice

  A defendant is found guilty of large-scale drug trafficking. During the investigation and trial, it is discovered that the defendant also attempted to bribe a witness to prevent them from testifying. The court might impose a lengthy sentence for the drug trafficking offense, perhaps 10 years, and a separate sentence of 5 years for obstruction of justice. If these sentences are ordered to be accumulative, the defendant would first serve the 10 years for drug trafficking, and upon completion, would then serve the 5 years for obstruction of justice, totaling 15 years in prison.