system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What's the reason for absurd jail sentencings like 300 years? What's the logic and method for calculating that many years of jail time?
gpt
The first explanation is that judges simply calculate the number of crimes committed times how many years the sentence is for each crime. If a thief commits 30 acts of burglary and each conviction carries a sentence of 10 years then you end up with 300 years of jail time.

One of the benefits of such long jail time is that parole decisions are often made based upon what percentage of the convict's sentence has been completed. Someone might be eligible for parole after they have served 50% of their sentence. Having a 300 year sentence makes sure that they will never be eligible for parole, no matter how lenient the parole decisions are in the future.