The Felony Sentencing Process

After a felony conviction in Minnesota, the sentencing process is governed by the state's sentencing guidelines. A presentence investigation is conducted by a probation officer to gather detailed information on the defendant's background, the crime, and its impact on the victim. A judge then uses the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines grid, which weighs the crime's severity and the individual's criminal history, to determine a presumptive sentence. The judge may impose an executed prison term or a stayed sentence with a period of probation, but must provide compelling reasons for any "departure" from the presumptive sentence. For executed prison terms, individuals serve two-thirds of their sentence incarcerated and the remaining third on supervised release.