Category: Sentencing · Statute: F.S. 947 · Source: Florida Legislature
Understanding Indeterminate Sentence in Florida
An indeterminate sentence is a criminal sentence that prescribes a range of time (such as five to ten years) rather than a specific, fixed duration. Under this system, the exact release date is not determined by the sentencing judge. Instead, the actual time served is decided by an administrative body, such as a parole board, based on the offender's rehabilitation, behavior, and readiness to reintegrate into society. This approach contrasts sharply with determinate sentencing, where an offender is sentenced to a fixed number of years and must serve a predictable portion of that term.
In Florida, indeterminate sentencing was the standard model for decades, governed largely under Chapter 947 of the Florida Statutes, which established the Florida Parole Commission (now the Florida Commission on Offender Review). However, the state largely abolished indeterminate sentencing and traditional parole for offenses committed on or after October 1, 1983, transitioning to a structured, determinate sentencing guidelines system. Today, indeterminate sentences in Florida are primarily historical, applying only to individuals who committed capital or highly specific offenses prior to the 1983 abolition date, or under very narrow, specialized statutory provisions.
How Indeterminate Sentencing Affects pretrial Bail
Because indeterminate sentencing has been almost entirely phased out in Florida, it rarely impacts modern pretrial bail determinations. However, for the rare defendants facing older, pre-1983 charges that carry potential indeterminate terms, or those facing modern offenses with parole eligibility, judges assess bail with extreme caution. The inherent unpredictability of an indeterminate life or multi-year sentence increases the perceived flight risk, often leading courts to set exceptionally high bail amounts or deny pretrial release altogether under Florida's pretrial detention statutes.
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