the.com/life sentence

means A criminal sentence meant to keep someone imprisoned for the rest of their natural life, though parole or legal limits often make the actual time served finite.

from Straightforward compound of 'life' (the duration) and 'sentence,' which comes from Latin sententia, meaning 'opinion' or 'judgment' — the same root behind judges 'opining' a verdict. The phrase itself is a plain, functional legal term rather than a dramatic coinage: it simply names the thing it describes, which is part of why its gap between promise and practice feels so stark.