"issue a sentence" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You could use it in a legal context, as in "The judge issued a sentence of six months in jail."
As for the West, he said, "Should we not issue a sentence of death?
It agreed to hear a case from California on whether that state's sentencing law, which presumes that judges will issue a sentence in the middle of a stated range but permits them to go higher if they state reasons, complies with the court's recent insistence that juries make the factual findings that lead to increased sentences.
Teresa Rodriguez wept as tearful family members and friends begged Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ken Riley to issue a sentence less severe than the maximum of 12 years in prison.
The legal procedure requires the court to summon the accused three times before issuing a sentence in absentia.
"Today the court has issued a sentence deemed appropriate and in accordance with the evidence put to them.
But Kay followed the recommendation of prosecutors who said he deserved a lighter punishment, issuing a sentence of probation, 100 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine.
But the judge issued a sentence higher than the probation officer's presentence recommendation of six months, which cited Mr. Brownstein's "genuine remorse" as a reason for leniency.
Such, at least, seems to have been the motivation of the judge in issuing a sentence that saw Ethan's ruinous behavior through the prism of his parents' delinquency.
