A court-ordered confinement in Indiana can take several forms: time in a county jail or state prison, home detention, placement in a community corrections program, work release from jail, or participation in a problem-solving court. Which one applies depends on the offense level, the defendant’s history, whether any part of the sentence is nonsuspendible, and what the sentencing judge decides after reviewing a pre-sentence investigation report. The length comes from statutory ranges tied to felony levels and misdemeanor classes, but the time actually spent confined is usually shorter than the sentence pronounced in court.
Sentencing Ranges by Offense Level
Indiana sorts felonies into six levels, with Level 1 the most serious and Level 6 the least. Each level has a minimum, a maximum, and an advisory sentence in the middle. Judges start at the advisory number and move up or down based on aggravating and mitigating factors.
- Level 1 felony: 20 to 40 years, advisory 30 years, fine up to $10,0001Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 Criminal Law and Procedure 35-50-2-4
- Level 2 felony: 10 to 30 years
- Level 3 felony: 3 to 16 years
- Level 4 felony: 2 to 12 years
- Level 5 felony: 1 to 6 years
- Level 6 felony: 6 months to 2.5 years
Level 6 has a wrinkle worth knowing. The court can enter the judgment as a misdemeanor rather than a felony, which changes what shows up on a background check for the rest of the person’s life.2Justia. Indiana Code Title 35, Article 50, Chapter 2 – Death Sentence and Sentences for Felonies and Habitual Offenders
Misdemeanor ranges are shorter:
- Class A misdemeanor: up to 1 year in jail, fine up to $5,000
- Class B misdemeanor: up to 180 days in jail, fine up to $1,000
- Class C misdemeanor: up to 60 days in jail, fine up to $500
Executed Time Versus Suspended Time
A sentence in Indiana has two parts: the executed portion, which is served in some form of confinement, and the suspended portion, which is served on probation. A three-year sentence might be executed as six months in jail with the remaining two and a half years suspended to probation. Most negotiation between the prosecution and defense happens here rather than over the total number.
Certain offenses carry nonsuspendible minimums. For those, the court cannot suspend the sentence below a statutory floor no matter what factors weigh in the defendant’s favor. Nonsuspendible time also generally cannot be served in a community corrections program.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 Criminal Law and Procedure 35-38-2.6-3
Jail and Prison
Traditional incarceration in Indiana splits along facility lines. County jails hold pretrial detainees and people serving shorter sentences, generally a year or less. The Indiana Department of Correction runs the state prison system for longer commitments. The dividing line is not absolute. A Level 6 felony can produce a county jail sentence rather than a DOC commitment, depending on how the court structures the order.
Larger DOC facilities typically offer more educational and vocational programming than smaller jails, though what is available in any given facility varies.
Home Detention
Home detention keeps a person confined at their residence under supervision rather than behind bars. The court can order it as a condition of probation under Indiana Code 35-38-2.5-5, and the total time on home detention cannot exceed the maximum imprisonment term for the offense.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-2.5-5 – Home Detention as Condition of Probation Supervision is handled either by the probation department or by a community corrections program.
Electronic monitoring is common but not automatic. Under Indiana Code 35-38-2.5-6, the court may order a monitoring device on the person or in the home, but the decision is discretionary.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-2.5-6 – Orders for Home Detention; Contents When a device is used, it is set to flag any movement outside the approved locations.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-2.5-10
A person on home detention follows a court-approved schedule covering work, school, treatment, and other pre-authorized activities. Violating the schedule can trigger revocation and a return to jail or prison. Monitoring fees generally run from $5 to $25 per day and are typically paid out of pocket.
Community Corrections
Community corrections is one of the most widely used alternatives to jail and prison in Indiana. Under Indiana Code 35-38-2.6-3, a sentencing court can place a defendant in a community corrections program instead of committing them to county jail or the DOC.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 35 Criminal Law and Procedure 35-38-2.6-3 The nonsuspendible portion of a sentence generally cannot be served this way.
Programs vary by county. Common components include residential facilities where participants live on-site but leave for work or treatment, electronic monitoring, day reporting, and substance abuse programming. Available placement often depends on whether there are open residential beds or monitoring units. The sentencing court sets conditions and the program director can add more. Participants pay for their own medical care while enrolled.
Work Release
Work release lets a person serving a county jail sentence leave the facility for employment and return during non-working hours. Indiana Code 11-12-5 authorizes temporary release for work, education, job training, or other purposes approved by the sheriff. A person is eligible unless the sentencing court specifically disapproves it or the conviction is for a sex offense.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 11 Corrections 11-12-5-2
Participants contribute part of their earnings toward room and board at the facility, along with any court-ordered restitution or fines.8Justia. Indiana Code Title 11, Article 12, Chapter 5 – County Jails: Work; Temporary Release The sheriff can also assign work release participants to community work parties and can require distinctive jail uniforms during those assignments.
Keeping a job through a sentence helps a person avoid losing housing, falling behind on child support, and struggling to reenter the workforce later.
Problem-Solving Courts
Indiana authorizes specialized courts aimed at the underlying causes of criminal behavior. Under Indiana Code 33-23-16, city and county courts can establish certified drug courts, mental health courts, veterans courts, and other problem-solving courts.9Justia. Indiana Code Title 33, Article 23, Chapter 16 – Problem Solving Courts
These courts pair intensive judicial monitoring with treatment and local social services. A drug court connects participants with substance abuse professionals and monitors progress through frequent hearings and testing. Mental health and veterans courts follow the same model with treatment tailored to their populations.
The statute permits deferred prosecution. If the defendant pleads guilty, consents to the referral, and all parties agree on conditions, the court can place the defendant in a problem-solving court program without entering a judgment of conviction. Successful completion results in dismissal, which means no conviction on the record.
Credit Time
The number of years pronounced at sentencing is rarely the number of years served. Indiana assigns people in confinement to one of four credit time classes under Indiana Code 35-50-6-3.1:
- Class A: one day of credit for each day served
- Class B: one day of credit for every three days served
- Class C: one day of credit for every six days served
- Class D: no credit earned
Class A effectively cuts actual time in half. A four-year sentence served at Class A produces roughly two years of actual confinement. Pretrial detention and pretrial home detention accumulate credit under the same rules.10Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-6-3.1 – Credit Time Classes Class assignment depends on the offense and behavior. Disciplinary infractions can drop a person to a lower class, which extends the time behind bars.
Modifying a Sentence After It Starts
Indiana law allows a person to ask the sentencing court to modify a sentence after they have started serving it. The rules turn on whether the person is classified as a violent criminal.
A non-violent offender can file a modification petition up to once per year and no more than twice during any consecutive period of incarceration, without needing the prosecutor’s consent.11Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-1-17 – Sentence Modification
A violent offender can file one petition within 365 days of sentencing without the prosecutor’s consent. After that window closes, any further modification requires the prosecutor to agree. People sentenced for crimes committed as juveniles get an additional petition after serving 15 years of actual time, or 20 years for murder, not counting credit reductions.
If the original sentence came from a plea agreement, the court cannot modify it below the plea terms without the prosecutor’s consent. The court must document its reasons for any modification.
How Judges Choose Among the Options
Indiana uses an advisory sentencing system. The judge begins at the advisory sentence for the offense level and moves up or down based on aggravating and mitigating circumstances listed in Indiana Code 35-38-1-7.1. Aggravators include significant harm beyond what the offense itself requires, prior criminal history, and abuse of a position of trust. Mitigators include the defendant’s character, whether the crime is unlikely to recur, and whether imprisonment would cause undue hardship on dependents. The statute makes clear these lists are not exhaustive.12Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-1-7.1 – Considerations in Imposing Sentence
Before sentencing, a probation officer prepares a pre-sentence investigation report covering criminal history, background, substance abuse, mental health, employment, and family circumstances. The court must share the factual contents with both sides before sentencing so the defendant can challenge anything inaccurate.13Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-38-1-12 – Presentence Investigation Victims may also make a statement to the court. This report is usually the primary document a judge uses to decide whether someone goes to prison, home detention, or community corrections.
Most Indiana criminal cases end in a plea agreement rather than trial. Under Indiana Code 35-35-3-3, felony plea agreements must be in writing and filed before the defendant enters the plea. Misdemeanor agreements can be oral. Once the court accepts an agreement, it is bound by the terms; if the court rejects it, the parties can negotiate a new one or go to trial, and in misdemeanor cases either side can ask for a different judge after a rejection.14Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-35-3-3 – Conditions; Presentence Report