Our mission is to end Life Without Parole sentencing in California. Our goal is to afford relief to those currently serving this sentence, no matter the conviction, through legislative change, commutations, pardons, resentencing, and public awareness about the injustice of the LWOP sentence.
Help support the Drop LWOP Campaign by donating to our work.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Valley State Prisons LWOP support group- Second Chance to Society (2C2S) for LWOPs has come together to take part in Fundraise for LOVE- LWOP Walk for Life 2024 an institutional Walk-a-Thon supporting a cause that is close to our hearts: Shriners Children’s Northern California.
Shriners Children’s is truly a special place, where hope and healing meet within a compassionate, family-centered, and collaborative environment.
The group has set a personal fundraising goal of $10,000. Can you help with a gift of $25, $50 or more?
This is an educational and motivational event for the people at CCWF, celebrating the inspiration and knowledge of both former and current LWOPs. We hope to fill each backpack with information about what resources are available for people serving LWOP, organizational stickers, pins, pencils, one page informational resource about your organization and how you help fight side by side with our LWOP population.
If your organization can not attend we hope you will allow us to bring in your resources. We heal together. Let us show these people they are not forgotten and not alone.
Drop LWOP Coalition Celebrates Newsom’s Commutations,
Calls for More
Governor Newsom granted 18 commutations and 37 pardons last Friday, giving these individuals the opportunity to be reviewed by the California Parole Board. The Drop LWOP coalition welcomes Governor Newsom’s exercise of executive clemency, an important gubernatorial power that he has been hesitant to utilize. “While we applaud Newsom’s action, we urge him to accelerate clemency, especially for the thousands of people serving life without parole (or LWOP) who are rapidly aging. Many were sentenced as youth and have spent decades on their rehabilitation, despite being told there was no point,” said Joseph Bell, an advocate with Drop LWOP and Human Rights Watch and a founding member of the National LWOP Leadership Council.
LWOP is a sentence under California law in which a person is sent to prison for the rest of their life with no possibility of demonstrating their change and growth to seek parole. Drop LWOP describes it as “the death sentence in slow motion,” arguing that LWOP effectively banishes people from the world outside prisons and demonizes them as less than human.
In contrast to Governor Newsom’s modest use of clemency, there is a growing momentum across the country to reform life without parole and extreme sentencing and provide avenues for these sentences to be reviewed. In addition to “second chance” legislation pending in states across the US, Governors like those in Louisiana and Massachusetts are using their clemency powers significantly more than Newsom.
Our own former Governor Jerry Brown, who issued over 100 commutations to people serving LWOP, went on record stating that one of the advantages of being in government for 50 years is correcting mistakes of the past, referencing tough-on-crime sentencing that fueled mass incarceration.
Life without parole is increasingly being referred to as a “death-by-incarceration” sentence, including by the United Nations, whose Human Rights Committee recently recognized these sentencing schemes as cruel and inhumane. After a delegation of advocates and attorneys from across the US testified in Geneva, Switzerland this past October, the UN affirmed that LWOP amounts to torture and racial discrimination in violation of international human rights laws and called on the United States for the first time to consider a moratorium on all life without parole (LWOP) sentences.
“We are grateful for Newsom’s decision to commute 12 individuals serving LWOP, giving them a second chance at life. In doing so he’s recognizing the very real capacity for people to grow and change,” said Kelly Savage-Rodriguez, a coordinator with Drop LWOP. “We hope he continues down this path, which is informed by compassion as well as data. We know when people serving LWOP come home they make our communities safer.”
Courtney Hanson
(916) 316-0625
Development & Communications Coordinator
California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP)
Media Contact:
Courtney Hanson
courtney@womenprisoners.org
(916) 316-0625
Hardin MessagE from Drop LWOP
Dear community,
After much anticipation a disappointing ruling has been issued in the case of People v. Hardin. In this case, the court considered whether the exclusion of people serving life without parole (LWOP) from youth offender parole hearings violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. After an incredible effort by attorneys representing Mr. Hardin and many others who submitted amicus briefs in support of his case, the Court decided not to rectify this glaring inequity impacting those sentenced to LWOP for offenses committed between the ages of 18 and 26.
Read our full statement here or in the file box to the right.
death by incarcerceration is torture
On September 15, 2022, dozens of organizations across the United States submitted a complaint to United Nations independent experts challenging the United States’ policy and practice of condemning people to death by incarceration (DBI), also known as life sentences. On October 29, 2023 abolitionists and activists from the Drop LWOP coalition and other organizations were heard at the United Nations Human Rights Committee and on November 3, 2023 the UNHRC issued its conclusions and recommendations. To read more about this exciting work visit our Death By Incarceration page here.
For more additional information visit the Death By Incarceration Is Torture website.
SIDE EVENT AT THE 139TH SESSION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
Life without parole and felony murder sentencing in california report
Over 5000 people in California are currently serving life without the possibility of parole (LWOP). Despite the magnitude of this sentence and its implications for California’s communities, no comprehensive compilation or analysis exists of the specific convictions leading to the imprisonment of those serving LWOP or how factors such as race, age, and gender affect sentencing outcomes. In 2020, Felony Murder Elimination Project and the UCLA Center for the Study of Women/Streisand Center established the Special Circumstances Conviction Project (SCCP) to address this gap in knowledge. This initiative aims to conduct the first thorough quantitative investigation into California’s history of LWOP sentencing. SCCP has collected thousands of conviction records from various statewide institutions, focusing on the prevalence and impact of California’s special circumstance law, which outlines the conditions under which individuals may be sentenced to LWOP and the death penalty. The ultimate objective is to enhance public knowledge and encourage academic research on the criminal legal system.
new report released by Human rights watch
I Just Want to Give Back”: The Reintegration of People Sentenced to Life Without Parole
Read the report from Human Rights Watch which focuses on the historic release of 143 individuals from California prisons and examines the positive contributions they have made with their second chances.
Check Out Our Latest Publications!
Want to know more?
Take a look at our groundbreaking video:
Life Without Parole –
Special Circumstances and the Other Death Penalty
This 13-minute video shares the stories of six individuals formerly and currently sentenced to Life Without Parole and their families, highlighting the cruel and arbitrary nature of California’s extreme sentencing laws and calls for long overdue change.
What is LWOP?
The Drop LWOP Coalition works to end Life Without Parole sentencing in California. Our goal is to afford relief to those currently serving this sentence, no matter the conviction, through legislative change, commutations, pardons, and resentencing and public awareness about the injustice of the LWOP sentence.
Get Involved
Connect with us to stay up-to-date with news, information, campaign updates, volunteer opportunities and more!
CLICK HERE TO SIGN ON TO OUR LETTER ASKING GOVERNOR NEWSOM TO COMMUTE ALL LWOP SENTENCES IN CALIFORNIA [Versión en español]
DROP LWOP COALITION 
