Here's the kind of thing I notice in almost every news account of a trial. In the Phil Spector trial, the jury has the option to (a) acquit, (b) find Spector guilty of second degree murder or (c) find Spector guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Okay, what are the possible sentences for the last two options?
The L.A. Times article says…
Spector…faces a minimum of 18 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder. The manslaughter charge carries two to four years in prison.
A report from Reuters says…
If convicted of murder, Spector could face up to life in prison. A manslaughter conviction would result in about 8 years behind bars.
Over on the CNN site, we learn…
If convicted of second-degree murder, Spector could face a prison sentence of 15 years to life, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. An involuntary manslaughter conviction could bring a prison sentence of up to four years.
An article on the MTV website says…
Spector…is charged with second-degree murder and faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted, though the jury can consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, which would send him to prison for up to 10 years.
And I'll bet if I kept looking, I could find other numbers. Apparently, the second-degree murder conviction would bring a minimum of 18 years in prison but it may also be 15 years or life. The involuntary manslaughter charge carries a sentence of two to four years or eight years or ten years.
I don't get this. There are real answers to this question. The judge must have given instructions to the jury in open court as to what each verdict would mean in terms of putting Spector in a little room with bars on the door. The folks who wrote these articles got all sorts of details about the case, either by being in the courtroom or hearing from someone who was. If you'll recall, the same kind of confusion occurred with the most recent of the dozen-or-so O.J. Simpson trials. Even after the jury said he was guilty, no one in the press could agree on the possible sentences.
Why is this so difficult?