Understanding the Criminal Justice System
The sentence you receive if you are convicted of or plead guilty to a crime in Indiana may not be the final word. Aside from filing an appeal, you may also be able to file a request for what is known as a “sentence modification,” asking the court that heard your case to change your sentence. Sentence modifications are not common, but Indiana law does provide for them.
A sentence modification doesn’t necessarily result in your release from prison. If your sentence modification petition is granted, the court may reduce or suspend your original sentence and impose a new sentence that the court could have imposed when it originally sentenced you. That could mean that you stay in prison but that your sentence is reduced. In rare cases, your sentence may be suspended, and you may be released on the time you have served.
Note, however, that if you pleaded guilty to the charges against you, the court is more limited in the relief it can provide. Namely, it needs the prosecutor’s consent to reduce or suspend your sentence to anything less than what was in your plea agreement.
The requirements for you to be able to request a sentence modification depend on what you were convicted of.
If you were convicted of certain violent crimes, you have 365 days from the date you were sentenced to file a petition for sentence modification without needing the consent of the prosecuting attorney to do so. After that, you can only file a petition for sentence modification if the prosecuting attorney consents to your request to file the petition.
If you were not convicted of a violent crime, you may file a petition for sentence modification once during any 365-day period and up to two times during any “consecutive period of incarceration” without needing the prosecuting attorney’s consent.
In either case, you cannot file a request for sentence modification until you begin serving your sentence. In addition, the court must receive a report from the Department of Corrections concerning your conduct while in prison.
If you are facing or serving prison time and believe that good reasons exist for your sentence to be reduced or suspended, contact Razumich & Associates to discuss your case. In particular, if you can show that you have completed a rehabilitation program or something similar while in prison, that there is new information about your case that may help explain why your sentence should be modified, or that your sentence is illegal for some reason, you may be able to convince your judge that your sentence should be modified.
At Razumich & Associates, we defend and protect the rights of those accused of all types of crimes in courts all across Indiana. We’re also here to help with post-conviction remedies such as sentence modification petitions. To learn more about the requirements for receiving a sentence modification and whether the facts of your case may support a petition for a sentence modification, call Razumich & Associates at 317-983-5333 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation. We’re here for you and are ready to help!
