Legal Definitions - accumulative sentences

Definition:Accumulative sentences are two or more sentences of jail time to be served in sequence. For example, if a defendant receives consecutive sentences of 20 years and 5 years, the total amount of jail time is 25 years.

Example: A defendant is found guilty of two separate crimes and is sentenced to 10 years for the first crime and 15 years for the second crime. The sentences are accumulative, so the defendant will serve a total of 25 years in jail.

This example illustrates how accumulative sentences work. The defendant is required to serve each sentence one after the other, resulting in a longer total jail time.