# Time served **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759 "2016-05-14T15:14:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bomberswarm2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@bomberswarm2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bomberswarm2)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759/1 "2016-05-14T15:14:05Z")
If you are incorrectly imprisoned for say, 8 years, and then you get your conviction vacated, then you comitted a actual crime, and got say 5 years in prison, would you be released immidently as you had already served the time? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759/2 "2016-05-14T15:19:14Z")
I am not sure if I understand your question correctly, but I don’t think a person gets any sort of “discount” on the sentence of a \*future \*crime due to having been wrongfully imprisoned in the past. That future crime would be a separate, new, crime, with its own sentencing and punishment. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759/3 "2016-05-14T15:19:27Z")
No. Not anymore than you would not be punished for a crime with a 6 months sentence ythat you commit after after being released for a crime with a years sentence. The wrongful conviction could be used as a mitigating factor in sentencing, but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759/4 "2016-05-14T15:20:02Z")
No. In some states you might be compensated for your wrongful incarceration. Some judges might take your previous wrongful incarceration into consideration when determining your new sentence but your previous incarceration will not be a get out of jail free card. Otherwise prison would not be a deterrent to any new crimes by the wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. ---
**Author:** ![bomberswarm2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@bomberswarm2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bomberswarm2)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759/5 "2016-05-14T15:24:25Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Otherwise prison would not be a deterrent to any new crimes by the wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. Why should it be? If you were wrongly convicted the first time, you should avoid prison the second time. Its not a magic get of jail free card, you’d still have the conviction on your record. That’s more of a deterrent for me than jail time. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759/6 "2016-05-14T15:30:47Z")
> [@bomberswarm2](#): > > Why should it be? If you were wrongly convicted the first time, you should avoid prison the second time. Its not a magic get of jail free card, you’d still have the conviction on your record. That’s more of a deterrent for me than jail time. If a sports player was unfairly penalized for a foul he didn’t commit, does this mean the referee should simply not penalize him when the player does later on commit an actual foul? That’s the logic you are advocating here. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759/7 "2016-05-15T15:33:52Z")
Judges are human. So you could always ask. I assume - people being different - that some judges would give you credit for past time served. Other judges would not budge an inch. Also there are minimum sentencing requirements, so some judges might think it fair to give you some “credit” for time served, but would not be allowed to by law. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-served/754759/8 "2016-05-15T16:40:01Z")
> [@bomberswarm2](#): > > Why should it be? If you were wrongly convicted the first time, you should avoid prison the second time. Its not a magic get of jail free card, you’d still have the conviction on your record. That’s more of a deterrent for me than jail time. That may be your opinion, but you asked for the facts and those are that time served for a wrongful conviction aren’t deducted from any future sentences. A conviction on your record might be a huge deterrent to you, but consider someone who’s already got a few convictions before the wrongful one, or someone who, like most criminals, is sure that he won’t get caught, and knows that even if he’s caught he’ll do no time, and society owes me dammit!