Number of women serving life sentences without parole has surged over the past decade, report shows
CNN
The number of women inmates serving life without the possibility of parole has risen 43% since 2008, adding to an already aging prison population nationwide, according to a new report from the Sentencing Project, an organization that advocates for criminal justice policy changes.
That means nearly 2,000 women now serving life-without-parole sentences can expect to die in prison, according to the report released Wednesday. These "excessive" punishments contradict international human rights standards, according to the advocacy group, and women of color are disproportionately impacted, as are victims of abuse, according to the advocacy group.
"The circumstances that lead women to commit violent crimes are often complicated by a history of sexual and/or physical trauma," the report's authors wrote. "Women who serve life sentences report high levels of psychiatric disorders, histories of physical and sexual violence and previous suicide attempts."