The Center For Life
Without Parole Studies

LWOP Facts

Facts Regarding Life Without Parole

1. Despite popular belief, LWOP is not a "humane" alternative to lethal injection. It is simply another form of the death penalty--death by incarceration.

2. There are over 53,000 people serving LWOP in the United States (and another 44,000 serving “de facto LWOP” (sentences that exceed the human lifespan if carried out in full)),[1] compared with fewer than 100 in the entire continent of Europe.[2] The number of LWOP-sentenced European prisoners would not even begin to fill a single yard in one of California's 35 prisons.

3. The European Court of Human Rights has held LWOP sentences to be cruel and degrading punishment and a violation of human rights because of their complete denial of hope.

4. Pope Francis has openly condemned LWOP, and the Vatican Criminal Code has abolished all life sentences.

5. It is the position of the Center for Life Without Parole Studies that every human being is capable of transformation and redemption; LWOP, as a "covenant with the past," [3] denies that possibility. While there may be some prisoners who will never be able to rejoin society, no one should be entirely denied the opportunity.

6. In California, both the traditional death penalty and LWOP can only be ended by voter approval through a new ballot initiative (or in the unlikely circumstance of a governor's commutation of an individual prisoner's sentence). It cannot be done by legislative means, as California is the only state that does not allow "legislative tampering" of successful initiatives.

7. Ending LWOP does not mean prisoners are guaranteed release. It only means they will have an opportunity at some point to be evaluated for suitability for parole. If the parole board finds they are not sufficiently rehabilitated and continue to pose a danger to society, release will be denied.

8. Sensationalized cases of released prisoners committing serious crimes are rare and do not represent the behavior of the vast majority of these individuals. Sentencing practices should not be based on extremely unusual occurrences.

9. Safety concerns about releasing convicted murderers who have served long sentences can be addressed by well documented studies revealing exceptionally low recidivism rates. A 2013 Stanford University study of 860 murderers paroled in California noted that only five returned to prison for new felonies, and none for murder.[4]

10. According to 2016-2017 data from the Legislative Analyst's Office (the California Legislature's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor), it costs an average of $71,000 to house a prisoner in California. [5]

11. United Nations human rights treaties and conventions oppose LWOP, but the United States has not ratified these instruments and is therefore not subject to the monitoring and accountability procedures of these bodies.

12. Eighty percent of the world's nations do not use LWOP. Of the 193 countries in the world, only the United States and thirty-six others have LWOP statutes on their books. Surprisingly, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Syria are not among them.

13. Under the Rome Statute (which created the International Criminal Court), a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes, genocide, or crimes against humanity can be considered for release after serving twenty-five years.

14. The Center's focus is on adult LWOP, as recent events have, fortunately, nearly completely eliminated juvenile LWOP in the United States, and there are many organizations and advocates already working in this area.

[1] ASHLEY NELLIS, STILL LIFE: AMERICA'S INCREASING USE OF LIFE AND LONG TERM SENTENCES 10 (2017), http://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Still-Life.pdf.

[2] Craig S. Lerner, Life Without Parole as a Conflicted Punishment, 48 WAKE FOREST L. REV. 1101, 1102 (2013).

[3] Term of art used by Professor Dirk Van Zyl Smit, Professor of Comparative and International Penal Law at Nottingham University.

[4] https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2013/apr/15/california-stanford-report-analyzes-lifer-paroles/

[5] http://www.lao.ca.gov/PolicyAreas/CJ/6_cj_inmatecost

The Center for Life Without Parole Studies is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Help support our work through AmazonSmile!

The Center for Life Without Parole Studies

Advocating for a balanced approach to abolishing this cruel and inhumane sentence nationwide.

2851 West Avenue L # 302

Lancaster, CA 93536

Phone: (661) 466-7007

Fax: (661) 793-6601

info@lwopstudies.org

Our Goals:

1) To eliminate the use of LWOP (and “de facto” LWOP—sentences that exceed the human lifespan) in the United States and ensure that all prisoners currently serving LWOP have a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate their fitness for release;

2) To include the voices of those harmed by crime in the conversation about LWOP abolition;

3) To help California LWOP prisoners with low-cost and pro-bono legal services focusing on commutation applications; and

4) To raise awareness of the role of childhood trauma in the creation of LWOP sentences of all types.

The Vermont Initiative

The Center for Life Without Parole Studies is collaborating with Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform (VCJR) to end life without parole sentences in Vermont. Since 2019, Center Founder and CEO Susan Lawrence has been working closely with VCJR Executive Director Tom Dalton and VCJR Intern/UVM Student/Human Rights Activist Skyler Nash on current and projected new legislation to end LWOP in the state.

This leadership team has been instrumental in the introduction of H.382 by Representative Brian Cina and co-sponsored by Representative Barbara Rachelson, and S.261 by Senator Dick Sears and co-sponsored by Senators Philip Baruth and Jeannette White. Please see The Vermont Initiative page for updates on these bills.

Vermont is uniquely positioned to become the first state to affirmatively end LWOP sentences for adults as well as juveniles, taking a strong stand against this human rights violation. Existing progressive criminal justice policies (such as voting rights for incarcerated persons, compassionate release provisions for terminally ill prisoners, and lack of felony murder statutes), as well as its small number of LWOP prisoners (fifteen), make Vermont the ideal state in which to begin this much needed reform.

Restorative justice is the law of the land in Vermont. LWOP is the antithesis of restoration.

Join with us to ensure all people inside prison have hope for the opportunity to one day present their case to the parole board and demonstrate their fitness for release.

OCTOBER 17, 2020 UPDATE: S.261 passed the Senate floor in March 2020, but because of COVID-19 it was not taken up by the House. We stand ready to work with lawmakers to re-introduce the bill in January 2021, when the new legislative session starts. Stay tuned!

From left to right: Tom Dalton, Susan Lawrence and Skyler Nash.