Many laws impact an offender’s sentence and many factors contribute to how long a sentence will actually be. 

NC laws that impact an offender’s sentence are:

• Fair Sentencing Act
• Structured Sentencing Act
• Justice Reinvestment Act 

Factors that impact how long a sentence will be, can include:

• Date the offender committed the crime (therefore which laws effect the sentence)
• Case law from the courts;
• Sentence credits or penalties; or
• Whether the offender is eligible for parole or not.

The information on these pages provides more information about these laws and factors that affect a person's sentence length.