Kentucky sees increase in life without parole sentences
Kentucky has seen one of the largest percent increases in its incarcerated population serving life without parole sentences.
According to a new report by The Sentencing Project, nearly half of all states had more people serving a life sentence in 2024 than in 2020.
Ashley Nellis, justice, law and criminology lecturer in the School of Public Affairs at American University and author of the report, said the Commonwealth has a disproportionately higher than average number of people in its prison system who will be incarcerated until they die, compared to the amount of crimes committed.
“Life without the possibility of parole has increased from 30 people to 153 people in a relatively short period of time, which is troubling,” Nellis reported.
In 2024, almost 200,000 people, or one in six people in prison, were serving life sentences, and more than 97,000 are serving life without parole sentences.
Racial disparities in life imprisonment are higher among those who were under 25 at the time of their offense compared to those who were 25 and older. Nellis explains a number of different factors are driving the increase, including the fact that there are now more crimes eligible for life without parole.
“In the past, it might have been required for first degree but now it’s required for second degree (murder),” Nellis pointed out. “Also, it may be required for certain victim types if there’s a homicide.”
Nellis noted advocates are calling for reforms that cap imprisonment at 20 years for crimes committed by adults, except for unusual circumstances, and at 15 years for youth. She believes the changes would stem mass incarceration.
“So that we no longer think about things in terms of the minimum term of years that somebody has to serve, but the maximum term of years that we can expect them to serve,” Nellis urged.
Almost half of the people serving life without parole sentences are at least 50 years old and one in four is at least 60 years old.
get more stories like this via email
Public News Service is an independent, member-supported news organization providing "news in the public interest" through a network of independent state newswires. Our journalists report on a broad spectrum of public interest topics with the goal of promoting an informed citizenry to support vibrant, equitable, and participatory communities – ultimately leading to a healthier democracy.
