More than 4,000 Louisianans are serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole, amounting to 15% of this state’s prison population.1 Between 1995 and 2020, the state added an average of 110 people each year to its total count of life-sentenced individuals.2 A major driver behind the large share of people serving FIGURE 1. [...] Black Louisianans as a Percentage of tenced to LWOP in Louisiana between 1990 and the State’s General Population, Prison Population, 2018 and Persons Sentenced to LWOP 80% +41 73%60% 65%40%26 and Older Under 26 31%59% 41% 5920%0% General Prison LWOPPopulation Source: Louisiana Department of Corrections data provided to The Sentencing Project. [...] In supporting the end Statistically, these individuals are the least likely to reof- of mandatory LWOP sentencing for felony murder, Lou- fend, having been incarcerated for a substantial period isiana lawmakers will increase proportionality and judi- of time and being over 50 years of age.13 cial discretion, and allow those who are rehabilitated to reenter society when they are fit to do so. [...] Age and the data provided to The Sentencing Project in response to a explanation of crime, revisited. [...] The Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.
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