Also known as: life sentences · life imprisonment
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A sentence that imprisons the convicted criminal for life. In some jurisdictions the prisoner may become eligible for release on good behavior, rehabilitation, or the like.
Luke Latham, age seventeen, set fire to an empty warehouse during a dispute with a rival crew. No one was injured. After conviction the court imposed life imprisonment without parole. The sentence is invalid because the Eighth Amendment categorically bars life without parole for a juvenile convicted of a non-homicide offense.
Landon Long was convicted of drug trafficking. The judge found additional quantities and leadership role by a preponderance and imposed a life sentence under the guidelines. The sentence rests on judicial fact-finding that increased the statutory maximum beyond the jury verdict.
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Lance Lee passed a bad check for one hundred dollars. With six prior nonviolent felonies he received a mandatory life sentence without parole under the state recidivist statute. The sentence is disproportionate to the offense and violates the Eighth Amendment.
Laura Lewis was sentenced to life imprisonment after a capital murder conviction. Statistical evidence showed that defendants who killed white victims received death far more often than those who killed Black victims. The disparity alone does not establish an Eighth Amendment violation.
Lillian Locke was convicted of murder. The jury found aggravating circumstances and imposed death rather than the available life sentence. The sentencing procedures satisfied the Eighth Amendment because they guided discretion and permitted individualized consideration.
Luna Lang possessed 650 grams of cocaine. The statute required a life sentence without parole. The mandatory term does not violate the Eighth Amendment even without individualized mitigation.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for a juvenile convicted of a non-homicide offense. The categorical bar applies regardless of the seriousness of the conduct or the potential lethality of the act.
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A mandatory life sentence without parole for possession of a large quantity of drugs does not necessarily constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The Eighth Amendment does not require individualized consideration of mitigating factors in every noncapital case.
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A life sentence without parole imposed on a recidivist for a nonviolent offense such as passing a bad check can be so disproportionate as to violate the Eighth Amendment. Possibilities of commutation do not cure the constitutional violation.
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Evidence that the defendant's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the conduct or to conform conduct to law was substantially impaired by mental disease or defect is admissible at the penalty phase as a mitigating factor favoring imprisonment over death.
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…of death is qualitatively different from a sentence of imprisonment, however long. Death, in its finality, differs more from life imprisonment than a 100-year prison term differs from one of only a year or two. Because of that qualitative difference, there is a corresponding difference in the need for reliability in the…