Tinkering with Life: A Look at the Inappropriateness of Life Without Parole as an Alternative to the Death Penalty

Lois Ahren's from The Real Cost of Prisons Projects writes:
 

Illustration by Augusto Gallardo from the Prison Poster Project

“Tinkering with Life: A Look at the Inappropriateness of Life Without Parole as an Alternative to the Death Penalty,” by  Ashley Nellis,  appears in the University of Miami Law Review.  Dr. Nellis explores the use of life without parole, now standing at more than 41,000 sentences nationwide and representing a 300% increase over the past two decades. She argues that the abolition of the death penalty in several states in recent years allows deliberations about punishment to expand and to consider the appropriateness of other sanctions. The article describes commonalities between death sentences and parole-ineligible life sentences, including:
 
--The terminal nature of both sentences that necessitates death in prison.
--The extreme racial disparities among those who receive either of these sentences.
--The article also discusses critical problems posed by life without parole sentences, including:
--The mandatory nature with which they can be imposed;
--The lack of heightened legal review required for life without parole cases in comparison to death sentences.

Finally, Dr. Nellis encourages careful consideration in promoting life without parole as an alternative to the death penalty, arguing that neither of these sentences allows for the possibility of reform or redemption."

http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/jj_Nellis%202013%20Tinkering%20with%20Life%20U%20Miami%20Law%20Review.pdf