NORTH CAROLINA'S DEFINTION OF "LIFE SENTENCE" -For crimes committed since October 1994, anyone sentenced to life in prison is sentenced to "life in prison without parole." That's the only kind of life sentence we have now. -In nearly all cases where it comes up, it is sufficient to say "life without parole." If we need to say more, we can say the inmate's only hope of release is for a court to overturn the verdict and order a new trial, or for the governor to grant clemency. ************** Three points to remember: 1) Life without parole means life without parole. People sentenced to life without parole can only get out of prison if the governor uses his/her power under the state constitution to grant clemency or commute their sentence. This is not parole, but clemency. Think of the movies, when the Roman emperor gave thumbs up or down to spare the gladiator or feed him to the lions. This is the same thing -- it is at the total, 100 percent discretion of the governor. 2) People are confused by the 25-year clause. What it means is this: after 25 years, an inmate can ask a Superior Court judge to review his case and prison record. The judge makes a non-binding recommendation to the governor. The governor can paper his birdcage with the recommendation if he likes. Please note: It is INCORRECT to say that someone given a life sentence will be eligible for parole in 25 years. 3) The new Structured Sentencing laws abolished parole in North Carolina for all crimes committed on or after October 1, 1994. We don't have parole any more, except for crimes committed before October 1, 1994. NO MORE PAROLE. Every inmate now serves 100 PERCENT of the minimum sentence. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOURCE: Joe Neff, News, at extension 4516. LAST UPDATED: May 1, 1997 perickso@nando.com