How long will my boyfriend be in prison for armed robbery and assault?

The charge of armed robbery carries a penalty of life or any term of years. When a person gets a term of years, there is a minimum and a maximum. I know someone who recently got 20 to 40 years for an armed robbery case. If a defendant gets life it is parolable life, meaning that he can be considered for parole at any time after 10 years (though most lifers serve far, far more than 10 years). If the defendant has not yet been sentenced, consult with the lawyer about what you can do to keep the sentence at a minimum. Personally appearing at the sentencing could help, as well as a letter. The prior record will tend to hurt him. If anyone was injured in the robbery that would tend to hurt him. There are sentencing guidelines that apply, but to calculate them I would need to know a lot more about the case and the defendant's background. His lawyer can calculate them. Under the ruling in People v Lockridge, the sentencing guidelines are only advisory, and the judge can sentence higher or lower than the guidelines if he or she finds it appropriate.

His sentence will be based upon a formula which assesses points for past record and characteristics of the offense(s) he was just convicted for. That total score will be matched to a range which he will be sentenced to unless there was a sentence agreement with the prosecutor's office. Absent good cause, the judge must sentence him within that range. There must be a very compelling reason expressed by the sentencing judge on the record to permit the judge to depart from that range established by the guideline score. A simple letter would not sway a judge many letters from credentialed individuals or a history of extraordinary conduct may influence some departure but don't expect much.