A suspended sentence is a legal arrangement in which a person who has been found guilty of a crime is not sentenced to jail but may be sentenced for that crime at a future time if he or she commits another crime during the period of probation. It is an alternative to imprisonment where a judge may partially or entirely suspend the convicted individuals prison or jail sentence so long as they fulfill certain conditions. If the conditions are violated, then the state may petition to revoke the suspended sentence and reimpose the original term of the sentence by proving, in an evidentiary hearing and by a preponderance of evidence standard, that the defendant indeed violated the condition(s) .

Suspended sentences are based on public policy goals of rehabilitating offenders. The true objective of suspended sentencing is to rehabilitate and to encourage a convicted defendant to be of good behavior. To accomplish this, it is necessary that good conduct be rewarded. It is important that a defendant know that good conduct on his part will expedite his complete restoration to society.

Some key points about suspended sentences include:

• A suspended sentence is a type of court-imposed penalty for a crime.
• Probation is a type of alternative to jail where a defendant serves his sentence in the community under the supervision of the judge or a probation officer.
• A suspended sentence typically means that a conviction will remain on a person’s criminal record.
• Most jurisdictions give judges the discretion to grant or deny suspended sentences in the vast majority of criminal cases.
• In deciding whether or not to grant a suspended sentence, criminal courts will consider some of the following: the defendant’s criminal record and criminal history, the seriousness of the charges, and whether the defendant is a flight risk or a safety risk to the community.
• A suspended sentence is not the same as probation.

Overall, a suspended sentence is a legal arrangement that allows a convicted individual to avoid jail time if they fulfill certain conditions. It is based on the public policy goal of rehabilitating offenders and encouraging good behavior.