What is the difference between a life without possibility of parole sentence and a life sentence?

An LWOP sentence is an indeterminate sentence without a minimum term; namely, it is neither a determinate term nor an indeterminate sentence that carries a minimum term. (People v. Smithson (2000) 79 Cal.App.4th 480, 503.) For this reason, because 16 years is a lesser term than a life sentence, a sentence of 16 years to life is a lesser sentence than a sentence of life without possibility of parole. The fact that defendant's first sentence consisted of two concurrent LWOPs and on resentencing his sentence was set to run consecutively is of no consequence to our analysis because the minimum parole eligibility, 16 years, is less than a life term.⁵

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