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In the early 1960s, Riina, Leggio and Provenzano were forced to go into hiding thanks to arrest warrants. Riina was handed a life sentence in 1963 for murder, but it was an in absentia sentence, meaning Riina was not present in court. He was to remain a fugitive for three-decades

not sure about this but plausible .....

He was sentenced in absence. Absentee sentence.

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Note added at 5 mins (2005-06-07 22:16:23 GMT)
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He has an absentee sentence, another way of phrasing this.

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Note added at 18 hrs 44 mins (2005-06-08 16:55:24 GMT)
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When considering which phrase to use, and there may be multiple choices in some cases since English and Spanish overlap but are not identical in structure, vocabulary, and nuance/meaning, the phrase most commonly understood by the target not the source audience should be selected, in my opinion and experience. If the most commonly understood phrase, rightly or wrongly, in English is XXX and it is a reasonable translation of the Spanish, then that is the one that should be selected. There are many ways to skin the cat, so to speak, pick the best one!

Cheers.

“Sentence” is synonymous with “judgment”, which are equivalent to “sentencia/fallo”, in Spanish.

There are several types of “sentencias”, the most important of which —in this case— are:

1) sentencia absolutoria = absolución => acquittal,
and
2) sentencia condenatoria = condena => conviction

Accordingly, one may have:
sentencia en ausencia => sentence/judgment in absentia
and/or
condena en ausencia => conviction in absentia

The key issue here is that both “sentence/judgment” and “sentencia” may be in favor or against the defendant, whereas “condena” and “conviction” are always against him/her.

Please see definitions below.
Best regards,
Manuel
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sentenciar – Pronunciar sentencia en una jurisdicción || En lo penal, condenar [Ossorio, Manuel: Diccionario de Ciencias Jurídicas, Políticas y Sociales, Editorial Heliasta, 27ª Ed., ISBN 950-885-005-1]
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SENTENCE. A judgment, or judicial declaration made by a judge in a cause. The term judgment is more usually applied to civil, and sentence to criminal proceedings.
2. Sentences are final, when they put, an end to the case; or interlocutory, when they settle only some incidental matter which has arisen in the course of its progress. Vide Aso & Man. Inst. B. 3, t. 8, c. 1.
http://www.constitution.org/bouv/bouvier_s.htm
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CONVICTION, practice. A condemnation. In its most extensive sense this word signifies the giving judgment against a defendant, whether criminal or civil. In a more limited sense, it means, the judgment given against the criminal. And in its most restricted sense it is a record of the summary proceedings upon any penal statute before one or more justices of the peace, or other persons duly authorized, in a case where the offender has been convicted and sentenced: this last is usually termed a summary conviction.
(….)
http://www.constitution.org/bouv/bouvier_c.htm