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Sentencing Project Report Examines Increasing Number of Life Sentences
by Derek Gilna
The non-profit Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project released a report in May 2017, titled “Still Life: America’s Increasing Use of Life and Long-Term Sentences,” that explores the high number of prisoners serving life sentences despite declining prison populations across the nation. According to the report, “The …
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More from this issue:
- They Thought They Were Going to Rehab. They Ended up in Chicken Plants, by Amy Julia Harris, Shoshana Walter
- News in Brief
- Florida Guard Gets 21 Months for Attacking Prisoner, Planting Weapon, by Monte McCoin
- OIG Report Slams CoreCivic’s Management of Leavenworth Prison, by Derek Gilna
- $160,000 Settles New Jersey Jail Class Action Suit, by Derek Gilna
- Private Prison CEO Heads Search for United Way Leader
- North Carolina Reforms Solitary Confinement Policies Following Vera Report, by Derek Gilna
- Assaultive Behavior by Michigan Prisoners Subject to Aggressive Prosecution
- Sentencing Project Report Examines Increasing Number of Life Sentences, by Derek Gilna
- New York: Inhumanity in the Guise of Education at Rikers Island Jail, by Christopher Zoukis
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Sanctions Against GEO Group Attorneys for Discovery Abuse, by Matthew Clarke
- $15,000 Settlement in New Mexico Jail Rape Case Based on Polygraph Results, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit: Injured Federal Detainee Meets Negligence Standard in Fall from Stool
- West Virginia Prisoner Injured on Work Crew Denied Workers’ Compensation
- Majority of Federal Prisoner’s Settlement Seized for Restitution; Tenth Circuit Affirms
- $950,000 Settles Mistreatment of Mentally Ill Prisoner, by Derek Gilna
- Lawsuit Claims CoreCivic Allowed Corruption and Gangs to Flourish at Oklahoma Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- $10,000 Settles Kansas Suit Over Fall From Upper Bunk
- Florida: Private Prison Company Allowed to Overcharge State, Mistreat Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Michigan’s Macomb County Jail Under Fire for Lack of Medical Care, Deaths, by David Reutter
- Michigan’s New Prison Food Service Provider Failing to Meet Contract Terms, by David Reutter
- $500,000 Settles Illinois Jail Suicide Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Cook County Strip-search Class-action Claimants to Receive Additional Payments, by Derek Gilna
- Drug Addicts Suffer Preventable Deaths in U.S. Jails, by Christopher Zoukis
- Controversy Surrounds Angola Prison Warden’s Retirement, Indictment of Family Members, by David Reutter
- $840,000 to Wrongfully Terminated Pennsylvania Jail Official
- Montana DOC Agrees to Modification of ADA Class-action Settlement, by Derek Gilna
- California Agency Addresses In-person Visits at Jails after Governor Vetoes Bill, by Lonnie Burton
- New York Times Reveals Racial Bias Rampant in Upstate New York Prisons, by Lonnie Burton
- Eighth Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment Order in Detainee’s Wrongful Death Suit
- $150,000 Settles Colorado Jail Prisoner’s Sexual Assault Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- “Start by Believing” Initiative Creates Controversy, by Matthew Clarke
- Department of Justice Releases Reports on Prison and Jail Deaths, by Matthew Clarke
- Attica Medical Experiments Exposed, by Greg Dober
- $3.6 Million: California Prisoner Killed by Guards, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.23 Million Settles Indiana Jail Conditions Suit, by Derek Gilna
- Report Slams Takeover of Washington DOC Food Services by Correctional Industries, by Lonnie Burton
- Pennsylvania Class-action Targets Company Providing Inaccurate Background Checks, by Derek Gilna
- Arkansas Supreme Court: Religious Freedom Preliminary Injunction Requires Hearing
- Seventh Circuit: Court Erred in Dismissing Prisoner’s Suit for Failure to Include Trust Account Ledger, by Matthew Clarke
- Solitary to the Streets: Studies Find Such Releases Result in Higher Recidivism Rates, Violent Behavior, by Lonnie Burton
- Palestinian Prisoners Stage Hunger Strike, by Christopher Zoukis
- National Registry of Exonerations Report: Blacks Suffer More False Convictions, by Derek Gilna
- $8.4 Million Judgment in Defamation Suit, by Christopher Zoukis
- Utah Settles Federal Suit Alleging Delays in Competency Treatment for Pre-trial Detainees, by Derek Gilna
- New York State Prisoner’s Administrative Charges Dismissed, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Correctional Complex at the Center of City’s Water Debacle, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Multiple Lawsuits Allege “Slave Labor” Under Guise of Drug Treatment, by Derek Gilna
More from Derek Gilna:
- Federal Judge in Louisiana Issues Sweeping Opinion Finding Numerous Eighth Amendment, ADA and RA Violations at Angola, April 1, 2022
- Human Rights Defense Center Prevails in Censorship Lawsuit Against Napa County Jail, California, Sept. 1, 2021
- California State Auditor’s Report Faults Counties for Waste and Poor Oversight of State Funds Used in “Public Safety Realignment”, Sept. 1, 2021
- The Fight Over Cellphones in Prisons Rages On, Sept. 1, 2021
- District Court Extends Armstrong Order to Five Additional California Prisons, Sept. 1, 2021
- HRDC Settles Censorship Lawsuit with Johnson County, Kansas Jail for $50,000 and Policy Changes, Aug. 1, 2021
- Virginia Prosecutors to Dismiss 400 Drug Convictions Tied to Disgraced Cop, July 15, 2021
- Discredited New York Police Detective’s False Testimony Causes the Dismissal of Close to 100 Drug Convictions, June 15, 2021
- D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences Firearms Examination Unit Under Fire, April 15, 2021
- Mississippi Joins Illinois and Few Other States Prioritizing Vaccination of State Prisoners to Slow Spread of COVID-19, April 1, 2021
More from these topics:
- Almost $1 Million in Settlements Paid to Three Nevada Prisoners, April 1, 2026. Cancer, Failure to Treat, Overdetention, Deliberate Indifference.
- $1.5 Million Class-Action Settlement Reached in Texas Jail Over-Detention Case, April 1, 2026. Overdetention, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Unlawful Detention, Monell Liability, Class Actions.
- SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Colorado Lawmakers Approve Prison Bed Funding, Despite DOC Understaffing, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Staffing, Parole, Overdetention, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Supreme Court of Maryland Announces Division of Correction Must Immediately Apply Time-Served Credit Against Valid Sentences When Convictions Are Vacated and May Not Toll Execution Pending Reprosecution; New Sentences Arising From New Convictions Take, Jan. 1, 2026. Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Effect of Vacatur, Credits, Concurrent and Consecutive Sentences.
- DOJ Leaves Louisiana Over-Detention Suit on Life Support, Two Others Granted Class-Action Status, Dec. 1, 2025. Class Certification, Habeas Corpus, Overdetention, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Unlawful Detention.
- Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Sentencing, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.
- $1.6 Million Class-Action Settlement for Virginia Prisoners Subjected to Delayed Release, July 15, 2025. Release and Reentry, Overdetention.
- Georgia Moves to Shield Intellectually Disabled Prisoners from Execution, June 1, 2025. Sentencing, Death Penalty.

