Press
This man’s imprisonment shows why California’s ‘special circumstances’ rule must change, reformers say
JULY 29, 2022
BY ANABEL SOSA
Jamil Wilson says he unwittingly became an accomplice to a murder in 1994. He served 25 years because of a statute that lawmakers hope to change.
Nothing But Time: Elderly Americans Serving Life Without Parole
June 23, 2022
Almost half of the people serving life without parole are 50 years old or more and one in four is at least 60 years old. Read this important report from The Sentencing Project.
Unjust sentencing law is overdue for reform
June 6, 2022
By Yvette McDowell, Special to CalMatters
Mandatory life sentences aren’t appropriate for those being sentenced for crimes they did not commit. Senate Bill 300 would create a fairer system.
Canada supreme court rules life without chance of parole is ‘cruel’ and illegal
May 27, 2022
by Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Canada’s supreme court has ruled that life sentences without the chance of parole are both “cruel” and unconstitutional, in a landmark decision that could give more than dozen mass killers who committed “inherently despicable acts” the faint hope of release in the future.
Drop LWOP Coalition Press Release, September 10, 2021
Give Stanley Bernard a Chance for Parole
LWOP is a death sentence: Give Stanley Bernard Davis a chance for parole!
September 14, 2021
by Drop LWOP Coalition
On Sept. 1, 2021, Stanley Bernard Davis, a Black man who was sentenced to the death penalty in 1989, was resentenced to Life Without Parole (LWOP). Prosecutors in the L.A. District Attorney’s Office accepted a habeas corpus petition from Mr. Davis which demonstrated that he had an intellectual disability and therefore was legally ineligible for the death penalty.
DROP LWOP: Fighting Life Without Parole Sentences
September 13, 2021
by Linda Evans
Life Without Parole (LWOP) means a living death sentence. Dropping LWOP is a step towards abolition.
“Listen! Hear the words of a 79-year-old woman who has been in prison for 38 years on Life Without Parole (LWOP). Life without parole is a slow death sentence. It eats away hope – for the people inside, for their families. It is not justice. Drop LWOP!” – Doris Roldan (serving LWOP at California Institution for Women)
Committee Recommends Ending Three Strikes, LWOP in California
December 17, 2021
Sacramento, CA -For nearly two years, the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code has undertaken an intensive investigation into California’s criminal legal system and this month they have released a sweeping report most notably to repeal the Three Strikes Law and create a review process for people serving LWOP (Life Without Parole).
LWOP Women Released After Years Behind Bars
July 31, 2021
Women who have served decades in California’s state prisons are given a second chance at life after enduring some of the state’s harsher sentencing.
Life-Without-Parole Sentences Are Exploding. But America’s Legal Defense System Hasn’t Kept Pace.
May 22, 2021
By Cary Aspinwall, The Marshall Project
Almost 56,000 people are serving sentences that will keep them locked up until they die, but most states don’t have minimum qualifications for their lawyers.
News and Updates
Gov Newsom Grants Executive Clemency
July 1, 2022 Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he has granted 17 pardons, 15 commutations, and one medical reprieve. Read Press Release Here
2021 DROP LWOP STRATEGY WEEK
This October 16th-23rd the Drop LWOP Coalition is hosting an online Strategy Week to bring together organizers dedicated to ending Life Without Parole. The week will be a mix of information sharing and brainstorming so we can build on the momentum of the past two years since our L.A. Strategy Session in 2019 and work together to accelerate concrete plans […]READ MORE 2021 DROP LWOP STRATEGY WEEK
GOV NEWSOM LAUNCHES NEW COMMUTATION SITE
Governor Newsom has released new commutation information: https://www.gov.ca.gov/commutations/READ MORE GOV NEWSOM LAUNCHES NEW COMMUTATION SITE
EXECUTIVE ORDER HALTS DEATH PENALTY
On March 13, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his decision to halt the execution of 737 people sentenced to death in California prisons. This moratorium on capital punishment acknowledges the significant racial, economic, gender and disability disparities in death penalty sentencing and is an important step toward justice. California has the highest prison population in […]READ MORE EXECUTIVE ORDER HALTS DEATH PENALTY
DROP LWOP COALITION 