For any felony committed on or after July 1, 1981, the sentence of imprisonment shall be a definite sentence and, unless the section of the general statutes that defines or provides the penalty for the crime specifically provides otherwise, the term shall be fixed by the court as follows:

Attorney's Note

Under the Connecticut General Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class A felonyup to 25 yearsup to $20,000
Class B felonyup to 20 yearsup to $15,000
Class C felonyup to 10 yearsup to $10,000
Class D felonyup to 5 yearsup to $5,000
For details, see Conn. Gen. Stat.53a-35a

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Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 53a-35a

  • Firearm: means any sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver or other weapon, whether loaded or unloaded from which a shot may be discharged. See Connecticut General Statutes 53a-3

(1) (A) For a capital felony committed prior to April 25, 2012, under the provisions of § 53a-54b in effect prior to April 25, 2012, a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of release unless a sentence of death is imposed in accordance with § 53a-46a, or (B) for the class A felony of murder with special circumstances committed on or after April 25, 2012, under the provisions of § 53a-54b in effect on or after April 25, 2012, a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of release;

(2) For the class A felony of murder, a term not less than twenty-five years nor more than life;

(3) For the class A felony of aggravated sexual assault of a minor under § 53a-70c, a term not less than twenty-five years or more than fifty years;

(4) For a class A felony other than an offense specified in subdivision (2) or (3) of this section, a term not less than ten years nor more than twenty-five years;

(5) For the class B felony of manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm under § 53a-55a, a term not less than five years nor more than forty years;

(6) For a class B felony other than manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm under § 53a-55a, a term not less than one year nor more than twenty years;

(7) For a class C felony, a term not less than one year nor more than ten years;

(8) For a class D felony, a term not more than five years;

(9) For a class E felony, a term not more than three years; and

(10) For an unclassified felony, a term in accordance with the sentence specified in the section of the general statutes that defines or provides the penalty for the crime.