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He apparently got "life with parole". That is by no means a life sentence. Not even close. He has had chances for parole. Parole has been for HIM to win, or to lose, and his behavior has been such that he has so far failed to win it. That's HIS fault. Others have won parole; others have kept their nose clean while in prison, so as to win parole. Has he? Apparently not.

"Life" didn't use to mean life. Starting after WWII, and through the late '60s and 1970's, most states had what was called "indeterminate" sentencing. Judges had the discretion to give very long nominal sentences to convicts whom they judged difficult to rehabilitate, with the understanding that the Parole Board would determine the convict's degree of contrition, rehabilitation, social supports if paroled, etc., and let him go once a minimal level of the foregoing had been shown.

Liberals and conservatives both grew to hate indeterminate sentences. Liberals hated the fact that for the same offense, a judge's discretion could result in one person getting 364 days in county and another person getting life, and thereafter being subject to the mercy of a politically appointed, non-professional (i.e., citizens, not lawyers) Parole Board from which there was basically no appeal. In particular, liberals thought that race and class figured far too heavily in deciding who got the long sentences, and how fast those who had long sentences were paroled. Conservatives hated the fact that people sentenced to "life" were expected to be released after having serviced only a few years, and didn't like the high investment in prisoner education and socialization projects which the indeterminate sentencing rules implicitly required to work.

The result was that indeterminate sentencing was tossed out in favor of narrow sentence ranges and truth in sentencing rules which required a minimum percentage of the sentenced time to be served, and required from 10 to 25 years to be served on a life bid before the parole board could meet. However, there are still plenty of people locked up under the old rules.

A judge would not just give a life sentance[sp] for this.