The Moral Problem of Life-Without-Parole Sentences
Only about 2,800 U.S. prisoners are on death row today, and only 31 were sentenced to death last year — which is remarkable. In the 1990s, death rows reached over 3,500 prisoners; several hundred were sentenced to death each year. This is a cause for celebration. But we should think carefully about what we have largely replaced death row with: life row.
More than 50,000 prisoners are serving life without parole in America today — an all-time high. According to a study by the Sentencing Project, most were convicted of murder. Even if they are guilty, they will not have the chance to argue against sentences that offer them no possibility of release or rehabilitation. Indeed, many thousands were convicted of nonviolent crimes, such as property offenses or drug offenses, and many were convicted of sexual assault, robbery or kidnapping. An additional 150,000 prisoners are serving life sentences, and still more are serving “virtual life sentences,” from which the prisoner will realistically never be released.