Definition

1. Noun:
   • (Law) The reduction in severity of a punishment imposed by law: The formal act of a court imposing a new, less severe sentence on a person who has already been convicted of a crime.

Usage

• The term "re-sentencing" is used exclusively in legal contexts. It refers to the judicial procedure where a judge reconsiders and alters an original criminal sentence, almost always to make it less harsh. It is not used for the initial sentencing or for increasing a sentence.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The defendant's successful appeal led to a re-sentencing hearing next month.
  • The judge granted re-sentencing based on new evidence regarding the defendant's rehabilitation.
  • Changes in the law made many prisoners eligible for re-sentencing.

Advanced Usage

• "To be eligible for re-sentencing": To meet the legal criteria required for a court to reconsider one's sentence.
  • Inmates who were juveniles at the time of their crime are now eligible for re-sentencing.
• "Re-sentencing hearing": The specific court proceeding where a judge reviews the case to decide on a new sentence.
  • The victim's family attended the re-sentencing hearing.

Variants and Related Words

• Resentence (verb): To impose a new sentence on a convicted person.
  • The court decided to resentence the offender to time served.
• Sentencing (noun): The act of pronouncing a judicial sentence upon a convicted person. (This is the original act, not the reduction).
• Sentence reduction (noun phrase): A general term for the result of re-sentencing.

Synonyms

• Sentence modification (specifically when resulting in a lesser penalty)
• Sentence reduction
• Commutation (can be similar, but often refers to a executive/pardoning power, not a judicial re-sentencing)

Antonyms

• Sentencing (the initial imposition of punishment)
• Appeal denied (when a request for re-sentencing is rejected)

Noun

1. (law) the reduction in severity of a punishment imposed by law