# What is the highest puishment for one count of a crime(in terms of years)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007 "2003-06-01T21:47:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StupidSmartAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@StupidSmartAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StupidSmartAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/1 "2003-06-01T21:47:33Z")
I’m just wondering, what was the longest time someone has been sentenced to imprisonment for a single count of a crime(like, a count of murder, a count of larceny)? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/2 "2003-06-01T21:53:49Z")
Depending on circumstances, one count of first-degree murder can get you life without possibility of parole. Can’t get any longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/3 "2003-06-01T22:01:15Z")
Is life without possibility of parole _really_ life without possibility of parole, or do some people still somehow manage to get released from such a sentence? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/4 "2003-06-01T22:05:06Z")
Life without possibility of parole means just that, no parole hearings, no parole. Not all life sentences are life without parole. ---
**Author:** ![StupidSmartAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@StupidSmartAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StupidSmartAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/5 "2003-06-01T22:07:04Z")
Well, I read\* that a man was sentenced to about 40 000 years in prison, but that was for multiple crimes. So while a man can get sentenced for life, with no parole, he isn’t going to love 40 000 years or even 150 years. I’ll rephrase it: How long has a man been sentenced for a single crime where it was unlikely he would never, ever complete it(and also excluding life without parole)? ---
**Author:** ![StupidSmartAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@StupidSmartAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StupidSmartAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/6 "2003-06-01T22:08:17Z")
- Guiness Book of World Records, 1990 edition. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/91b2a8/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/7 "2003-06-01T22:25:32Z")
Didn’t James Earl Ray get 99 years for Killing Dr. Martin Luther King? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/8 "2003-06-01T22:40:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by StupidSmartAgain \* > \*\*I’ll rephrase it: > > How long has a man been sentenced for a single crime where it was unlikely he would never, ever complete it(and also excluding life without parole)? \*\* I’m afraid that’s still ambiguous, since it ties it to the likelihood of the particular individual completing it. For example, a 75 year old person and a 25 year old person could each get a sentence of 20 years. Assuming no parole, odds are the 25 year old will be able to complete the sentence, but I would think the odds would be against the 75 year old doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-highest-puishment-for-one-count-of-a-crime-in-terms-of-years/179007/9 "2003-06-04T22:45:08Z")
If I should be allowed a shot at interpreting the posts of the Dearly Departed, I think **SSA** was asking what is the biggest number of years ever handed down for a single count of something. He specifically excludes such constructions as life without parole and, presumably, the death sentence. I’m curious, if anyone wants a second shot at this thread.