Court Terminology

Executed sentence: If an individual receives a sentence that is
executed, the judge would "commit" the offender to the custody of the Department
of Corrections (DOC). If the total time of the executed sentence is over 1 year and 1 day then the individual would be sent to prison. For example; if sentenced to 30 months in prison the individual would typically "serve" 2/3 of that time (or about 20 mo) and then "serve" the
remaining 10 months on supervised release (parole).

Stay of execution: If an individual is sentenced under a stay of execution,
the judge imposes the prison sentence but then stays the commitment. The offender does not go to prison, but instead is placed on probation. As a condition of probation the judge could order the individual serve local jail time (up to 1 year). At the time of the sentence the
individual is convicted (if convicted of a felony then the individual will permanenetly have that felony on their record)

Stay of Imposition: If an individual is sentenced under a stay of imposition,
the prison sentence is not imposed. Similar to a stay of execution,
the individual would be placed on probation and could be required to serve local
jail time.
At the time of the sentence the individual will have a conviction (if a felony they will be convicted of a felony for the duration of their probationary term). If the individual succeeds on probation, however, when the individual is discharged from probation the felony conviction is converted to a misdemeanor conviction.

Having the chance to avoid a felony conviction is the primary benefit of a stay of imposition and the only real difference between a stay of imposition and a stay of execution.

Stay of Adjudication: Under this disposition, by plea agreement, the Judge agrees to not accept the guilty plea. The individual is usually placed on probation and may be required to serve local jail time.

The benefit to the offender of this plea agreement is that if the individual never violates his probation, the charge is dismissed and the offender is never convicted of any level of offense.