Life Imprisonment - Reform or Abolition

Reform or Abolition

In a number of countries, life imprisonment has been effectively abolished. Many of the countries whose governments have abolished both life imprisonment and indefinite imprisonment have been culturally influenced or colonized by Spain or Portugal, and have written such prohibitions into their current constitutional laws. The most populous nation to abolish all forms of life imprisonment is Brazil, where a mandatory cap on prison terms at 30 years is provided by statutory law (capital punishment is still constitutionally allowed during wartime, and is applied for military crimes such as treason, desertion and mutiny).

A number of European countries have abolished all forms of indefinite imprisonment, including Serbia, Croatia, and Spain which set the maximum sentence at 40 years, Bosnia and Herzegovina which sets the maximum sentence at 45 years, and Portugal, which sets the maximum sentence at 25 years; Norway has abolished life imprisonment but retains other forms of indefinite imprisonment. The only country in Asia to have abolished all forms of indefinite imprisonment is the Chinese dependency (Special Administrative Region) and former Portuguese colony of Macau also maintains a mandatory cap on prison sentences at 30 years, having inherited the law from Portuguese rule. Three African countries, the Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and Cape Verde have abolished life imprisonment. The maximum sentence in Mozambique and Republic of the Congo is 30 years, and 25 years in Cape Verde.

In South and Central America, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic have all abolished life imprisonment. The maximum sentence in Honduras is 40 years, in El Salvador is 75 years, 50 years in Costa Rica and Panama, 60 years in Colombia, 35 years in Ecuador, 30 years in Nicaragua, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Venezuela, and 25 years in Paraguay.

In the United States, a 2009 report by the Sentencing Project suggested that life imprisonment without parole should be abolished, a suggestion that was met with opposition from law enforcement officials.