NCJ Number
132936
Journal
Vanderbilt Law Review Volume: 43 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 529-568
Date Published
1990
Length
40 pages
Annotation
Laws providing for a sentence of life imprisonment without parole offer a legitimate alternative to capital punishment and deserve greater use as a punishment for society's worst murderers.
Abstract
These laws are a relatively recent development, having been enacted by many states in the period since the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Furman v. Georgia in 1972 that the State's imposition of the death penalty represented cruel and unusual punishment because of its capriciousness. States have varied widely in implementing life-without-parole, however, some using it for repeatedly convicted offenders and others for major drug law offenders. Its most effective use is as a prosecutorial weapon against murder, although incarcerating violent murderers for life poses serious problems unless correctional officials plan adequately. States that lack these statutes should adopt them, using life-without-parole as one of two or three options for punishing those deemed the most dangerous and severe murderers. This approach is easily included in existing sentencing systems and allows flexibility in matching sentences to specific crimes. As a sanction for murder, it also has philosophical advantages that do not exist for its other uses. States using this sanction should also study its effects on criminal justice, corrections, and inmates. 229 footnotes