Como dizer "Pena alternativa" em inglês

The defendant has been convicted, but he has not yet been sentenced to jail or prison. The judge decides not to require him to begin a prison term or a full term in jail.
He is released on probation (if already in jail) or granted probation.
If he is not currently being held in jail, he is granted probation.

The defendant is serving a term in either jail or prison. He is released prior to the completion of the full term.
He is released on parole.

Embora sua pergunta é simples, a resposta é complicada porque a gente fala de dois sistemas de justiça muito diferentes.

A prisão dele foi convertida em pena alternativa.

My suggestion:

His prison sentence has been comuted to community service


Bye!

I disagree. That might work in Brazil, but not in the USA. Be aware that "prison" and "jail" are NOT interchangeable terms in English although you will often see them used as if they were. A "jail" is where a defendant is held prior to sentencing or as a punishment for the conviction of a "misdemeanor" (a crime punishable by a fine of less than $10,000 or less and/or a term of less than one year). A commitment of a year or less in jail is often imposed as a condition of "probation". A "prison" is where a defendant serves a term as punishment for the conviction of a "felony" ((a crime punishable by a fine of $10,000 or more and/or a term of one year or more). Community service is often imposed as a term/condition of probation, but not as a condition of parole.

Sugestão:


- conditional sentence

A conditional sentence is a prison term of less than two years that can be served in the community rather than in a prison.

In which country? This sounds like another version of "probation".

Este trecho do site Capital News Online explica a diferença. Eu, particularmente, não entendo muito do assunto. Deixo aqui parte do artigo para auxiliar em pesquisas futuras.

The main difference between a conditional sentence and probation is that a conditional sentence imposes conditions that amount to punishment.

A person is put on probation when they're convicted of a petty crime that doesn't warrant prison time. The terms of probation are much less strict than those of a conditional sentence.

A conditional sentence is only given by a judge who has determined that the offender deserves a term of imprisonment, but can serve the sentence in the community.

There was some worry among legal experts and civil rights activists that conditional sentences could be used to replace probation, not jail terms — with no effect on prison populations. So far, this has not happened.

The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics reveals that judges handed down 17 per cent more conditional sentences between 1997 and 2001. Meanwhile, the number of jail sentences decreased by the same amount. Probations remained about the same.

Mas não existe, em inglês, a expressão "alternative sentencing"? Evitar prisão parece ser o objetivo principal. A pena, qualquer, que seja, é cumprida em liberdade condicional.

The State of Nevada, for instance, has a Department of Alternative Sentencing.

It certainly sounds like we are talking about the Canadian criminal justice system, something I am not familiar with.

I found interesting the following quote: The main difference between a conditional sentence and probation is that a conditional sentence imposes conditions that amount to punishment.


In California, I do not recall a grant of probation that, as a condition, did not require either a jail term, a fine plus penalty assessment, or both. The jail condition could be up to 365 days in felony cases. That certainly sounds like California probation "...imposes conditions that amount to punishment." I was a probation officer for the County of Los Angeles for 30 years, so that is a subject I know something about.

California has work furlough, community service, home detention, diversion (drug and domestic violence), etc. Unless there have been recent changes, it does not have anything like the "conditional sentencing" mentioned above.

In translating, the translator must always be aware of his audience. Using American terminology to an Indian audience or Australian concepts to an American audience is a waste of time unless they are explained. Even the term "probation officer" varies greatly in meaning between the U.K. and the U.S.A. I worked for a few weeks with an English probation officer, and, in comparing our duties, he had much less authority and was much more of a social worker than a peace officer or court officer than we.