A death sentece

In addition to its grammatical meaning, the word “sentence” also means punishment. When someone is sentenced to serve five years in prison, the person has to go to jail for five years. His or her sentence is five years. A person can also be sentenced to death (though that is much less common). In that case, the government’s punishment is to put the person to death. In metaphorical terms, if someone gets sick and will definitely die from that sickness, that person faces a death sentence. In the 1980s and 1990s, a person with HIV faced a death sentence. He or she would almost definitely die from AIDS. Today, an HIV diagnosis is not a death sentence because of anti-retroviral drugs.