No Exit: The Expanding Use of Life Sentences in America (From the Sentencing Project)

Dear Friend,

A new report released by The Sentencing Project finds a record 140,610 individuals are now serving life sentences in state and federal prisons, 6,807 of whom were juveniles at the time of the crime. In addition, 29% of persons serving a life sentence (41,095) have no possibility of parole, and 1,755 were juveniles at the time of the crime.

No Exit: The Expanding Use of Life Sentences in America represents the first nationwide collection of life sentence data documenting race, ethnicity and gender. The report's findings reveal overwhelming racial and ethnic disparities in the allocation of life sentences: 66% of all persons sentenced to life are non-white, and 77% of juveniles serving life sentences are non-white.

Other findings in the report include:

* In five states - Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and New York -at least 1 in 6 prisoners is serving a life sentence.
* Five states - California, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania - each have more than 3,000 people serving life without parole. Pennsylvania leads the nation with 345 juveniles serving sentences of life without parole.
* In six states - Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota - and the federal government, all life sentences are imposed without the possibility of parole.
* The dramatic growth in life sentences is not primarily a result of higher crime rates, but of policy changes that have imposed harsher punishments and restricted parole consideration.

The authors of the report, Ashley Nellis, Ph.D., research analyst and Ryan S. King, policy analyst of The Sentencing Project, state that persons serving life sentences "include those who present a serious threat to public safety, but also include those for whom the length of sentence is questionable." One such case documented is that of Ali Foroutan, currently serving a sentence of 25 years to life for possession of 0.03 grams of methamphetamine under California's "three strikes" law.

The Sentencing Project calls for the elimination of sentences of life without parole, and restoring discretion to parole boards to determine suitability for release. The report also recommends that individuals serving parole-eligible life sentences be properly prepared for reentry back into the community.

-The Sentencing Project

For the NYTimes article on the report read here. Some highlights include:

Two-thirds of prisoners serving life sentences are Latino or black, the report found. In New York State, for example, 16.3 percent of prisoners serving life terms are white.

California’s prison system, the nation’s largest with 170,000 inmates, also had the highest number of prisoners with life sentences, 34,164, or triple the number in 1992, the report found.
In four other states — Alabama, Massachusetts, Nevada and New York — at least one in six prisoners are serving life terms, according to the report.

Seven prison systems — Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and the federal penitentiary system — do not offer the possibility of parole to prisoners serving life terms.
That policy also extends to juveniles in Illinois, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. A total of 6,807 juveniles were serving life terms in 2008, 1,755 without the possibility of parole. California again led the nation in the number of juveniles serving life terms, with 2,623.
“The expansion of life sentences suggests that we’re rapidly losing faith in the rehabilitation model,” said Ashley Nellis, the report’s main author.
Despite all of this information about the horrors of the death penalty, Senator Jeff Sessions decided to dishonor Matthew Shepherd's life and death by tacking on an amendment to the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Prevention Act that could make some perpetrators of hate crimes punishable by death. The ACLU has come out in opposition to the proposed amendment. (Read their statement here)
Read the amendment here.

(Racewire article on it here
and Washington Blade article on it here.)

Juvenile Justive Hearing!

To my faithful readers,

Sorry for being so bad at blogging. I'll try to get back on my game.

From the Sentencing Project:
Legislative Hearing:
"Juvenile Justice Accountability
and Improvement Act"

On June 9, the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will convene a hearing at 2:30 p.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2141, to listen to testimony about sentences of juvenile life without parole (JLWOP). Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, submitted testimony to the Committee urging Congress to eliminate sentences of JLWOP in the states and the federal system.

"The Sentencing Project opposes sentences of juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) because they declare that young people are beyond reform. All other nations have devised strategies to hold youth accountable, promote public safety, and prioritize rehabilitation to limit recidivism without resorting to this extreme punishment," states Mauer in his written testimony. "We support legislation that acknowledges the critical differences between youth and adults and imposes age-appropriate sentences that protect public safety and gives a second chance to young people."

To read more of his testimony, click here.

The following bill will be considered: H.R. 2289, the "Juvenile Justice and Accountability Improvement Act of 2009."

Witness List

Bryan Stevenson,
Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative

Mark Osler,
Former Prosecutor and Professor of Law, Baylor Law School

Linda White,
Victim, Texas

Anita Colon,
Sister of JLWOP Inmate, Pennsylvania

New Findings: Decline in Black Incarceration for Drug Offenses

Dear Friend,

For the first time in 25 years, since the inception of the "war on drugs," the number of African Americans incarcerated in state prisons for drug offenses has declined substantially, according to a study released today by The Sentencing Project. It finds a 21.6% drop in the number of blacks incarcerated for a drug offense, a decline of 31,000 people during the period 1999-2005.

The study, The Changing Racial Dynamics of the War on Drugs, also documents a corresponding rise in the number of whites in state prison for a drug offense, an increase of 42.6% during this time frame, or more than 21,000 people. The number of Latinos incarcerated for state drug offenses was virtually unchanged.

The study notes that the black declines in incarceration represent "the end result of 50 state law enforcement and sentencing systems" which need to be examined individually. But overall, the decline in blacks incarcerated for a drug offense follows upon declining arrest and conviction rates for blacks as well. The study suggests much of the disparity resulting from the drug war has been a function of police targeting of open-air drug markets. As crack use and sales have declined, or moved indoors in some cases, law enforcement activity may have been reduced correspondingly.

Because of the rising number of whites in prison for a drug offense, the overall number of persons serving state prison time for a drug offense remained at a record 250,000 during the study period. The white increase may be related in part to more aggressive enforcement of methamphetamine laws, according to the study. While methamphetamine is only used at significant levels in a relative handful of states, data from states such as Iowa and Minnesota show a substantial influx of these cases during this time period.

The analysis by The Sentencing Project also documented a sharp contrast between state and federal prison populations. While the number of persons in state prisons for a drug offense rose by less than 1% during the study period, the increase in federal prisons was more than 32%. These latter changes are attributed to ongoing aggressive enforcement of drug laws, including application of harsh mandatory sentencing policies. Despite declines in the use of crack cocaine, federal prosecution and incarceration levels for crack offenses remain high and have a stark racially disparate impact.

In reviewing the study's findings, Mauer noted that despite the new trend, African Americans are still imprisoned at more than six times the rate of whites for all offenses. Moreover, high incarceration rates for low-level drug offenses remain a function of the largely punitive approach to drug abuse that has proven expensive and ineffective.

Today's study is based on an analysis of government data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

-The Sentencing Project