LWOP in the News

Governor Brown Grants Executive Clemency

Published: 

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that he has granted 36 pardons and 31 commutations.

Individuals who have been convicted of a crime in California may apply to the Governor for a pardon. Those granted pardons all completed their sentences years ago and the majority were convicted of drug-related or other nonviolent crimes. Pardons are not granted unless they are earned.

A gubernatorial pardon may be granted to individuals who have demonstrated exemplary behavior and have lived productive and law-abiding lives following their conviction. The process includes eligible individuals obtaining a Certificate of Rehabilitation, which is an order from a superior court declaring that a person convicted of a crime is now rehabilitated. This requirement was waived for one individual facing the possibility of deportation.

When a pardon is granted, the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are notified so that they may update their records on the applicant. The pardon is filed with the Secretary of State and the Legislature, and it is a public record.

The Governor also granted 31 commutations to current inmates. Individuals currently serving a sentence for a conviction by the California courts can petition to have their sentence reduced by applying for a commutation. In the majority of these commutations, the individuals have been granted the opportunity to make their case before the Board of Parole Hearings, which will determine whether they are ready to be paroled.

Copies of the gubernatorial pardons and commutations can be found here. 

 

Movement to End LWOP Sentencing

Press Conference for SB 942- parole eligibility for lifers sponsored but the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration. 

 

 

Click on this link to watch this landmark video.

Oklahoma Court Overturns No-Parole Sentence of Juvenile

May 10th 2018

 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the life without parole sentence of a killer who was a juvenile at the time of the crime.

 

Click on this link to read the full story. 

Davis vs Mississippi (17-1343)

 

May 9th 2018

 

Issues: (1) Whether the Eighth Amendment requires the sentencing authority to make a finding that a juvenile is permanently incorrigible in order to impose a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole; and (2) whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits a life without parole sentence for a crime committed by a juvenile.

 

Click on this link for the full story.

 

 

Governor Brown Grants Executive Clemency

 

Published: 

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that he has granted 56 pardons and 14 commutations.

Individuals who have been convicted of a crime in California may apply to the Governor for a pardon. Those granted pardons all completed their sentences years ago and the majority were convicted of drug-related or other nonviolent crimes. Pardons are not granted unless they are earned.

A gubernatorial pardon may be granted to individuals who have demonstrated exemplary behavior and have lived productive and law-abiding lives following their conviction. The process includes eligible individuals obtaining a Certificate of Rehabilitation, which is an order from a superior court declaring that a person convicted of a crime is now rehabilitated. This requirement was waived for two individuals facing the possibility of deportation.

When a pardon is granted, the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are notified so that they may update their records on the applicant. The pardon is filed with the Secretary of State and the Legislature, and it is a public record.

The Governor also granted 14 commutations to current inmates. Individuals currently serving a sentence for a conviction by the California courts can petition to have their sentence reduced by applying for a commutation. In the majority of these commutations, the individuals have been granted the opportunity to make their case before the Board of Parole Hearings, which will determine whether they are ready to be paroled.

Copies of the gubernatorial pardons and commutations can be found here. 

March 26 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania lawmaker is leading an effort to end life without parole sentences, which would make his the first state to do away with the permanent punishment.

 

Click on this link to read the full story.

March 8th, 2018

 

Can We Wait 75 Years to

Cut the Prison Population in Half ?

 

The Sentencing Project

 

The U.S. prison population grew by more than 600% between 1973 and 2009—from 200,000 people to 1.6 million. Tough-on-crime policies expanded the number of imprisoned people even while crime rates plunged to 40% below their levels in the 1990s. In recent years, policymakers and criminal justice professionals have implemented reforms to correct the punitive excesses of the past. By yearend 2016 the number of people held in U.S. prisons had declined by 6% since a 2009 peak, and crime rates have continued to decline.

 

But the overall impact of reforms has been quite modest. With 1.5 million people in prison in 2016, the prison population remains larger than the total population of 11 states. If states and the federal government maintain their recent pace of decarceration, it will take 75 years—until 2093—to cut the U.S. prison population by 50%. Expediting the end of mass incarceration will require accelerating the end of the Drug War and scaling back sentences for serious crimes.

Click here to download the full article.

Jan 10th, 2018

 

Oklahoma's Life Sentenced Population Rising Fast

 

Oklahoma has increased its life-sentenced population steadily over the past 20 years to the point where one in eight prisoners is now serving life. To stem the continued rise in imprisonment (the state ranks second in the country in terms of incarceration rates) and its associated costs, lawmakers have passed bills designed to reduce the number of people sentenced to life without parole for nonviolent drug crimes. These are promising approaches but the state will need to pursue even bolder reforms to make a noticeable difference in the correctional population. The increased prevalence of life sentences stands at odds with attempts to scale back overcrowded prisons.

Click on this link to access the report.

 

December 23rd, 2017

Governor Brown Grants Executive Clemency

Published: 

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that he has granted 132 pardons and 19 commutations. 

Individuals who have been convicted of a crime in California may apply to the Governor for a pardon. Those granted pardons all completed their sentences and the majority were convicted of drug-related or other nonviolent crimes. Pardons are not granted unless they are earned.

A gubernatorial pardon may be granted to individuals who have demonstrated exemplary behavior and have lived productive and law-abiding lives following their conviction. The process includes eligible individuals obtaining a Certificate of Rehabilitation, which is an order from a superior court declaring that a person convicted of a crime is now rehabilitated. This requirement was waived for a refugee who is currently detained as part of a federal immigration proceeding. 

When a pardon is granted, the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are notified so that they may update their records on the applicant. The pardon is filed with the Secretary of State and the Legislature, and it is a public record.

The Governor also granted 19 commutations to current inmates. Inmates currently serving a sentence for a conviction by the California Courts can petition to have their sentence reduced by applying for a commutation. In the majority of these commutations, these individuals have been granted the opportunity to make their case before the Board of Parole Hearings, which will determine whether they are ready to be released from prison.

 

List of those commutations:

 

 Oct 26th, 2017

 

The Moral Problem of Life-Without-Parole Sentences

 

By BRANDON L. GARRETT

Garrett is a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and the author of End of Its Rope: How Killing the Death Penalty Can Revive Criminal Justice.

 

Click on this lick to access the article from Time Magazine. 

 

 

Aug 8th, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that he has granted nine commutations. Inmates currently serving a sentence for a conviction by the California Courts can petition to have their sentence reduced by applying for a commutation. In the majority of these commutations, these individuals have been granted the opportunity to make their case before the Board of Parole Hearings, which will determine whether they are ready to be released from prison.

 

List of those commutations:

 

April 15th, 2017

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown announced Saturday that he commuted seven sentences and granted 72 pardons to individuals who served time and have been deemed rehabilitated. Six of those pardons went to people convicted of crimes in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

 

List of those pardons and commutations:

 

November 9th, 2016

The Belize Court of Appeal has found mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole breaches fundamental human rights.

 

Sept 13th, 2016

Zimbabwe constitutional court declares life without parole to be both cruel and unusual punishment.

 

Nov 3rd, 2015

Germany's Humane Prison System. Focus on preparing prisoners to return to society could provide model for reforming our failed justice system. 

Sept 24th, 2015

During his address to the US Congress. Pope Francis called for “global abolition of the death penalty,” because “every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes.” The pope’s address also criticized life without parole sentences, offering “encouragement to those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.”

 

Click on the photo below for more information:

Oct 23rd, 2014

Pope Francis blasts life sentences as ‘hidden death penalty". 

"All Christians and men of good will are thus called today to fight not only for the abolition of the death penalty, whether legal or illegal, and in all its forms, but also in order to improve prison conditions, with respect for the human dignity of the people deprived of their freedom. And I link this to life imprisonment. A short time ago the life sentence was taken out of the Vatican’s Criminal Code. A life sentence is just a death penalty in disguise. "

Click on the photo below for more information:

Jan 2013

 

 

LIFER PAROLEE RECIDIVISM REPORT - California 

 

This report focuses on the recidivism of individuals who were released to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) parole after serving a sentence of life with the possibility of parole, hereafter referred to as “lifer parolees” or “lifers.”1 It provides an in‐depth recidivism analysis of lifer parolees who were released during fiscal year 2006‐07 and followed for a period of three years. These analyses expand on those which were first presented in the CDCR 2011 Adult Institutions Outcome Evaluation Report2 by further exploring information related to the circumstances surrounding the infractions of those who recidivated within the three‐year follow‐up time frame.

In order to provide a broad context to the overall performance of lifers on parole, lifers who have been released to parole are compared to their counterparts who were released after having served a determinate sentence in prison. Accordingly, we employ a recent historical cohort for each group because we seek to examine not only those offenders who have successfully reintegrated into the community, but also those who have recidivated and may now be in custody.

 

Click on this link to access the report.