Legal Definitions - successive sentences

When an individual is found guilty of more than one crime, a judge must determine how the sentences for each conviction will be served. Successive sentences, also known as consecutive or cumulative sentences, mean that the prison terms for each crime are served one after the other. This approach results in a longer total period of incarceration compared to concurrent sentences, where multiple sentences are served at the same time.

Here are a few examples to illustrate how successive sentences work:

• Imagine a scenario where a person is convicted of both armed robbery and aggravated assault. The armed robbery involved holding up a bank, and the aggravated assault occurred when the perpetrator intentionally injured a security guard during their escape. If the judge imposes successive sentences, the individual would first complete the full sentence for the armed robbery. Only after that sentence is entirely served would they then begin serving the sentence for the aggravated assault. This means the total time spent in prison would be the sum of the individual sentences for each crime, rather than overlapping.

• Consider a case involving a defendant found guilty of large-scale fraud and a separate charge of obstruction of justice. The fraud involved a complex scheme to defraud investors, and the obstruction of justice charge arose from the defendant destroying critical documents during the police investigation. If the court orders successive sentences, the individual would serve the entire prison term for the fraud conviction. Upon its completion, they would then begin serving the sentence for obstructing justice. This ensures that the punishment for each distinct criminal act is fully realized sequentially, acknowledging the separate harm caused by each offense.