Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted criminals are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives. Crimes that warrant life imprisonment are extremely serious and usually violent. Examples of these crimes are murder, torture, terrorism, child abuse resulting in death, rape, espionage, treason, illegal drug trade, human trafficking, severe fraud and financial crimes, aggravated property damage, arson, hate crime, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, theft, piracy, aircraft hijacking, and genocide.
Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to discipline or separate incarcerated individuals who are considered to be security risks to other incarcerated individuals or prison staff, as well as those who violate facility rules or are deemed disruptive. However, it can also be used as protective custody for incarcerated individuals whose safety is threatened by other prisoners. This is employed to separate them from the general prison population and prevent injury or death.
Parole is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or else they may be rearrested and returned to prison.
Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) is a supermax prison facility in Crescent City, California. The 275-acre (111 ha) prison takes its name from a shallow bay on the Pacific coast, about 2 mi (3.2 km) to the west.
A super-maximum security (supermax) or administrative maximum (ADX) prison is a "control-unit" prison, or a unit within prisons, which represents the most secure level of custody in the prison systems of certain countries.
In England and Wales, life imprisonment is a sentence that lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for parole after a minimum term set by the judge. In exceptional cases a judge may impose a "whole life order", meaning that the offender is never considered for parole, although they may still be released on compassionate grounds at the discretion of the Home Secretary. Whole life orders are usually imposed for aggravated murder, and can only be imposed where the offender was at least 21 years old at the time of the offence being committed.
Article 176 of the Italian Criminal Code concerns libertà condizionata
In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act, also known as carcere duro, is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations and impose practically a complete isolation upon a prisoner.
In the United States, life imprisonment is the most severe punishment provided by law in states with no valid capital punishment statute, and second-most in those with a valid statute. According to a 2013 study, 1 of every 2 000 inhabitants of the U.S. were imprisoned for life as of 2012.
F-Type-Prisons, officially called F-type High Security Closed Institutions for the Execution of Sentences, are high-security prisons designated by Turkish Law 5275 on the Execution of Sentences.
Life imprisonment in Sweden is a term of imprisonment for an indeterminate length. It is the most severe punishment available in Sweden. Swedish law states that the longest punishment, other than life imprisonment, is a fixed prison term of 18 years. However, a prisoner convicted to life imprisonment may appeal a partially served life sentence to the District Court of Örebro for "fixing" the sentence. Upon success, the sentence is commuted to a fixed sentence of any number of years considered proportionate to the severity of the crime, after which standard Swedish parole regulations apply. Due to new legislation taking effect in January 2022, any offender aged 18 at the commission of the murder can be sentenced to life imprisonment. Previously, an age limit of 21 applied. Prior to 2006, all life sentences were issued without the possibility of parole, although executive clemency was widely issued to commute life sentences to fixed-time sentences in a similar way now exercised by the judiciary. This procedure is the only way a sentence longer than 18 years may be issued in Sweden.
In France, life imprisonment is a punishment of indeterminate length and may last for the remainder of the convict's life. The sentence is the most severe punishment given under French law and it can be imposed by the courts for aggravated murder, treason, terrorism, drug kingpin and other serious felonies resulting in death or involving torture. There is an average of 25 sentences of life imprisonment per year and there are 550 inmates currently jailed for life. Life sentences for crimes other than aggravated murder are rare.
Life imprisonment in Russia was introduced on December 17, 1992, by the law 4123-I. Courts could not sentence criminals to life imprisonment at that time. Only those who had been sentenced to death penalty could have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. When the new Criminal Code of Russia was adopted in 1996, life imprisonment became a separate punishment.
Life imprisonment in Turkey is a legal form of punishment and the most severe form of punishment. In most cases life imprisonment replaced capital punishment. Law 4771 of 3 August 2002 abolished the death penalty for peace time and replaced capital punishment with life imprisonment for 17 provisions of the Turkish Penal Code. Law 5218 of 14 July 2004 abolished the death penalty completely. This law provided that in some 40 provisions of the Turkish Penal Code and other laws such as the Law on Forests the death penalty was replaced by aggravated life imprisonment.
In Albania, life imprisonment is a legal penalty for men over 18 who commit certain crimes. It is the severest punishment available under Albanian law. Parole may only be granted after the prisoner has served 25 years, and only if the prisoner is found unlikely to re-offend and has displayed perfect behavior while in prison. Otherwise, an inmate shall not be released, and will remain in prison for the rest of their lives. Albania is one of the few countries in Europe that imposes life sentences without possibility of parole. Only men may receive life; the maximum sentence for women is 30 years' imprisonment. Prisoners who committed their crimes when below the age of 18 may be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years.
Criminal justice reform seeks to address structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the criminal justice system intervenes in citizens’ lives, including lawmaking, policing, and sentencing.
The Prisoner Human Rights Movement was launched in 2011 by Pelican Bay State Prison inmates in response to large numbers of inmates being moved from general prison populations to solitary-confinement units after allegations of gang affiliation or political organizing. Its goal is to improve living conditions for inmates in California.
Abdullah Öcalan has been imprisoned on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara since February 1999. He is serving a life sentence for violating article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code. Initially he was sentenced to death but the conviction was commuted to a life sentence in October 2002. Abdullah Öcalan's imprisonment and the detention conditions are an issue that constantly causes constraints in the Turkish-Kurdish political sphere which has also an influence on the relations between Turkey and international organizations.
Nadia Desdemona Lioce is an imprisoned Italian member of the Red Brigades. Lioce was arrested in 2003 with Mario Galesi after a shootout on a train travelling between Rome and Florence and charged with several murders. At trial she admitted being a Brigadist and refused to speak more. She was sentenced to life imprisonment and placed in the restrictive 41-bis prison regime, which involves solitary confinement.
Close Supervision Centres were established by UK Prison Service in 1998, as a means to segregate the most violent or disruptive prisoners. As of 2021, there were 52 inmates held in the restrictive regime which involves solitary confinement. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and Amnesty International has raised concerns about the centres.
