A new report by The Sentencing Project (TSP) shows that the percentage of prisoners serving terms of life without parole—or “death by incarceration”—nationwide has increased, even as overall prison populations decreased. It is TSP’s sixth national census of people serving life sentences, which includes ‘life with the possibility of parole’; ‘life without the possibility of parole’; and ‘virtual life sentences,’ defined as those of 50 years or longer.
Researchers found that, since 2003, the percentage of prisoners serving a “death by incarceration” sentence increased 68%. This population was down 4% since 2020, but that’s relative to a shrinking of the total prison population by 13%. About one in six prisoners is serving such a sentence, totaling almost 200,000 prisoners across the United States.
Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. has only about 4% of the total population, yet it “holds an estimated 40% of the world’s life-sentenced population,” TSP found, “including 83% of persons serving LWOP.”
Nearly half of those serving life sentences are Black, far greater than that group’s 14% share of the U.S. population. Among women in prison, one in eleven is serving life, with those aged 55 or older accounting …
An apparent error by attorneys for a former Idaho prisoner limited her recovery to just $62,500 after she was raped by a guard. In a letter to PLN on August 30, 2024, the Idaho Department of Administration confirmed that was the amount paid by the state Department of Corrections …
Missouri prisoners beware: On November 19, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed denial of qualified immunity (QI) to a prison guard who placed two “avowed enemy” prisoners in the same cell, precipitating an assault.
In July 2022, prisoner Robert J. Hall submitted to …
by Anthony W. Accurso
At the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on August 22, 2024, a Louisiana prisoner defeated a claim of qualified immunity (QI) by Defendant officials with the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSC) in his suit to hold them …
by Anthony W. Accurso
Two recent studies highlight decreased cancer survival rates for those who’ve been incarcerated and their partners, too. The studies effectively connect abysmal prison healthcare to the lack of access to cancer screenings that accompanies poor health insurance after release from prison. Researcher Jingxuan Zhao, …
by Anthony W. Accurso
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit in federal court for the District of Columbia on December 20, 2024, challenging the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for treating sentence credits earned by prisoners towards early release under the First Step Act (FSA) as …
by Anthony W. Accurso
An Oklahoma prisoner who was exonerated after nearly 50 years in prison has received over $7 million in compensation so far. Glynn Ray Simmons, 71, now holds the dubious distinction of serving more time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit than anyone …
by Anthony W. Accurso
A prisoner, who said that he was inspired by what he read in PLN, fought for over three years to obtain compensation from North Carolina for property lost when prison officials failed to secure it while he was transferred for extradition to another state.
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by Anthony W. Accurso
On August 27, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a $500,000 jury award for a Los Angeles Lakers basketball fan shot with a rubber bullet by city cops attempting to “manage” a boisterous crowd after a championship win. …
by Anthony W. Accurso
The Alabama Department of Finance issued a $250,000 payment on behalf of the state Department of Corrections (DOC) on August 16, 2024, settling a suit filed by the survivors of state prisoner Steven Davis, who was beaten to death by guards in October 2019 …
