People have many thoughts running through heads after being charged with a felony in Kansas City. Most of these thoughts may be the immediate concerns about how long they may be in jail, if they will be able to make it to work the next day and other initial concerns. However, they will also be concerned with the potential penalties they will face if they are convicted of the charges against them.
Felony convictions could result in more severe penalties than misdemeanors, but there are different potential penalties for different felonies as well. Felonies are grouped into four different classes, A – D, with D being the least severe felonies.
Those convicted of Class D felonies could be sentenced to a jail sentence up to four years. Judges can sentence people to less than a year in county jail, however, if the judge sentences the person to prison it must be for a minimum of two years.
Potential penalties for different classes of felonies
If the conviction is for a Class C felony than the maximum jail sentence is seven years. Similarly to Class D felonies judges can sentence people to less than a year in county jail though. Class B felony convictions have minimum jails sentences of five years and maximum sentences of 15 years. Class A felony convictions could result in prison sentences between 10 years and life in prison.
These penalties will increase if people are convicted of a subsequent felony though. For instance, if people are convicted of a second Class D felony, they will be sentenced as if it is a Class C felony, Class C felonies will be sentenced as Class B felonies and so on.
Before anyone can be sentenced in Missouri though, they first must be convicted. Simply being charged with a felony does not mean that people are going to be convicted of that charge. There are many potential defenses to the charges and everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Experienced attorneys understand the potential defenses and may be able to help protect one’s rights.