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The Conversation USA

Why does the US sentence people to hundreds of years in prison?

  • Written by Darryl K. Brown, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
The U.S. gives out relatively strong sentences compared to other western democracies.Billion Photos/Shutterstock.com

On July 15, a Virginia judge sentenced James Fields Jr. to a life sentence, plus 419 years, for killing Heather Heyer at the 2017 Charlottesville white nationalist rally by ramming his car into a crowd.

Some may wonder about the point...

Read more: Why does the US sentence people to hundreds of years in prison?

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