NCJ Number
138006
Journal
Vanderbilt Law Review Volume: 43 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1990) Pages: 529-568
Date Published
1990
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This note analyzes the relatively recent development and current prevalence of the life sentence without benefit of parole (LWOP) alternative to the death penalty.
Abstract
The analysis examines the use of LWOP in capital offender or murder statutes in the United States, traces LWOP's development through the Federal and State courts since 1974, reviews the various approaches States take to implement LWOP as well as the specific approaches taken by Alabama and Kentucky, identifies the advantages and disadvantages of LWOP, and considers the positive and negative elements of LWOP and some of its specific applications. An attempt is made to provide guidance to States that already use LWOP and want to promote its continued success and to States like Tennessee that do not have LWOP but may consider adopting this sanction. Both the Supreme Court and lower courts repeatedly have affirmed life-without-parole's constitutionality. Life-without-parole is used effectively as a prosecutorial weapon against murder, and States that do not employ life-without-parole punishment should consider its adoption. 229 footnotes