When considering only the United States, does this sentence appear natural and formal?

I would understand what you meant but if you were a judge, it would be more like this: I hereby sentence you to life in prison for the charge of first degree murder. And for the charge of conspiracy to commit first degree murder, 20 years in prison. In our system, it is important that each charge has its own sentence in case one of them gets overturned after appeal or new evidence. If this was just casual conversation, you can say it how you like. My example was if you wanted to sound more like a judge. I changed solicitation to conspiracy only because I don’t know if that is the correct name. If it is correct, use that. There wasn’t anything wrong with you saying solicitation, but when multiple people commit one crime, there is usually a charge of conspiracy.

"For the charges of first-degree homocide and solicitation of homocide, I sentence you to life without possibility of parole."

I understand it but it reads kind of backwards in a way. I would say “I pronounce the defendant as guilty of first degree murder, and impose a life sentence.” Or something to that effect

In terms of any flavour of English, there is only one real mistake here. People are tried FOR crimes, not AS them. Otherwise, not bad. In terms of actual legal jargon, I can’t say one way or another how likely that wording would be used, but it makes sense.

Aside rom using “as” instead of “for”, your sentence would be fine in a casual sentence. But it is obvious to a native speaker that it would not be worded like that in a legal setting. “For the charge of first degree murder, I hereby sentence the defendant to life in prison ” would be more believable.

It might help to watch some videos of people being sentenced for their crimes in the US. Then you’ll be able to see what real American judges do and say. But your sentences doesnt make it clear whether they’re being sentenced to one life sentence or two, and you need to say “for first-degree…”, not “as first-degree”. On the count of murder in the first degree, I hereby sentence you to life in prison. On the count of solicitation of murder in the first degree, I hereby sentence you to life in prison. The sentences are to run consecutively. This sounds better to me, although I’m not a legal expert. The judge would likely speak directly to the defendant if they were in the room, they would likely separate the charges and impose a sentence for each one, and they would likely inform the defendant whether their sentences would run concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively (one after the other).

"for first degree murder" not "as"

No, that doesn’t sound like a real-life sentencing memorandum. Most noticeably, a sentence is *for* a charge, not *as* a charge. Pronouns are very tricky like that. Judges would also formally say that “the Court” or “this court” imposes a sentence or issues an order. You’re right that we say, “The judge pronounced a life sentence,” but “I hereby pronounce a sentence” isn’t something judges say in a courtroom. They would also say it the longer, more formal way: “a sentence of life imprisonment.” The exact language would vary from state to state. In some, especially those with the death penalty, it is the jury rather than the judge that decides a murder sentence. The judge would only ask each juror, one by one, to confirm that this is their verdict, then read the sentence determined by the jury. Usually, though, there will be a separate sentencing phase of the trial after the verdict. Sentencing statements in the United States are written to prevent the defendant from being able to overturn them on appeal. They discuss each count separately, giving a basis for each sentence. Judges get to give a short (or at least, everyone else hopes it’s short) speech about how murder is bad, especially in states where they have to run for re-election. They always start by addressing the victim’s surviving loved ones and then other community members watching the hearing. It is common for judges to give their observations about the credibility of witnesses, that the defense attorney did a good job and represented their client effectively, and that the defendant understood the proceedings, since these are important issues in an appeal, and appeals judges who were not present at the trial are supposed to defer to the judge who was there about them. It’s even a sardonic joke among defense attorneys that, whenever a judge starts praising the great job you did, what that really means is your client is about to get a harsh sentence, and the judge is trying to remove any grounds for appeal. In a courtroom drama, these procedures get compressed a lot, and audiences accept it as dramatic license. In particular, the judge gets only a line or two immediately after the jury verdict. Some real-world excerpts of American judges announcing a sentence for homicide: >\[Defendant\], rather than pursuing the \[police department\] mission, treated \[the victim\] without respect and denied him the dignity owed to all human beings and which he certainly would have extended to a friend or neighbor. In the Court's view, 270 months, which amounts to an additional ten years over the presumptive 150-month sentence, is the appropriate sentence. Or this one, where the judge closes a twenty-minute speech by switching to formal legal jargon: >I have handled hundreds, if not thousands of criminal cases over the years. \[...\] This is not the first murder case that has come before me. This is not the first case I’ve presided over which involves harm to a child. This is not the first case I have had where a person who was in an unhappy marriage committed a crime. \[...\] I have had a number of cases that demonstrated one person’s capacity for cruelty.toward another human being. I can, however, say without hesitation that the facts in this case are the most horrific I have ever seen. Your conduct in this case deserves the maximum punishment that I can impose under Colorado law. **As such, with respect to the charge of first-degree murder, after deliberation, I remand you to the custody of the Colorado Department of Corrections for the remainder of your life, with no possibility of parole.**

You’d tend to say, ‘impose’ a life sentence. ‘Pronounce’ is more like you’re announcing something, like ‘I now pronounce you man and wife’. But if the judge is talking to the defendant, they’d say ‘I hereby sentence you to…’. Also you’d say ‘for’ first degree murder, not ‘as’.

I would expect more:  "Whereas the defendent has been found guilty of murder in the first-degree, and of solicitation of murder, therefore this court hereby imposes a sentence of life imprisonment." This stuff is phrased passively and impersonaly. 

I hereby sentence the defendant to life in prison for first degree murder and solicitation of first degree murder.