In recent years, less than 4 percent of people sentenced to life without parole in California have been released due to changes in state law and executive power. At the time research began, there were only 143 people who fit this description. This report focuses on the historic release of these individuals and examines the positive contributions they have made with their second chances. Using statistical data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and qualitative data from a series of interviews conducted with individuals formerly sentenced to LWOP in the state of California, this report sheds light on the positive impact these people can have on society. Notably, the interviews were conducted with 110 out of the 143 individuals who had been released, representing approximately 77 percent of the total population. This comprehensive sample reinforces empirical research suggesting that LWOP sentences are unnecessary when it comes to promoting public safety. Moreover, it contends that LWOP sentences are counterproductive to public safety because they deprive communities of the unique and valuable contributions individuals with the sentence can make.
In 2024, the Board scheduled a total of 3,862 youth offender parole hearings; 2,777 were for indeterminately sentenced persons eligible for a youth offender parole hearing and 1,085 were for determinately sentenced persons eligible for a youth offender parole hearing. Of the scheduled hearings, 1,681 hearings were held, resulting in 505 grants (less than 30%), 1,176 denials, and 278 stipulations to unsuitability. The remaining scheduled hearings were waived, postponed, continued, or cancelled. In 2023, 48 percent of scheduled parole hearings were youth offender parole hearings.
While the mainstream media, conservative politicians, and the public at large categorize individuals serving LWOP as the “worst,” this rhetoric does not survive a review of the data. Statistical evidence clearly demonstrates that the most common special circumstance used as a sentencing enhancement is the one that requires the lowest degree of culpability: felony murder.19 Given the stark racial and age-at-offense disparities in LWOP sentencing, this report raises serious questions about the way in which California’s special circumstances penal code fulfills its purpose of narrowing the number of individuals who are eligible for either the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.