Among the states that allow parole for life sentences, the timeline for the parole process varies wildly, averaging about 25 years to become eligible. That is, eligible merely to plead one's case at a parole hearing--which is itself a problematic institution--not the actual granting of a release. Some states (Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota) never allow parole for life sentences.

Constituting around 56 percent of all LWOP sentences, Blacks are locked up for life without parole at an even higher rate than their overrepresentation in the general incarcerated population.

Among juveniles, the racial disparity is magnified: In Alabama, 75 of 89 juveniles serving LWOP sentences are Black. In Pennsylvania, which leads the country in putting away juveniles for life, the color line permeates all phases of the criminal process: Black youth make up 40 percent of juvenile arrests, 54 percent of those detained, and 67 percent of juveniles imprisoned for life without parole.

Notice that within the gradients of punishment, as the possibility of freedom tapers off, the proportion of Blacks held in the system rises.

Maybe the most outrageous disparity detailed in the report is that between the punishment and the crime:

...in 26% of cases, the juvenile serving an LWOP sentence was not the primary assailant and, in many cases, was present but only minimally involved in the crime. However, because of state law, they were automatically given a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

The Sentencing Project notes that statistics don't show that parole for life sentences results in higher rates of re-offending. Meanwhile, aging prisoners continue to languish in the system, and the state pays the burden of their rising health care costs.

If we take LWOP as a snapshot of draconian sentencing policies running on auto-pilot, beyond the general cost to taxpayers, the essential question is “what if”? For every elderly inmate condemned to die behind bars, how else could those lost years have been spent? Under more open criminal-justice policies, how much more money would states have to fund schools, health care, and community programs that keep young people on a positive path? For every child written off as an incorrigible menace to society, what message is sent to kids on the outside, struggling to advance themselves within the ever-narrowing confines of the law?

Image: Tamms Supermax Prison (John Smierciak / Chicago Tribune)