We use data to fully grasp the scope of lengthy sentences in the U.S. In North Carolina, we use this data to try and identify areas and people ripe for sentencing for relief.
We also make this data available to researchers, advocates and policy makers. Our life sentences dashboard below, for example, aggregates data on life sentences across the country and allows users to explore state-by-state and demographic information.
Life Sentences Dashboard
This dashboard is a comprehensive, interactive platform bringing together decades of national data on life imprisonment in the United States. The dashboard allows people to explore trends in life sentencing across all 50 states and the federal system. It displays data from national censuses of life sentences conducted approximately every four years between 2003 and 2024. You can also explore the dashboard in a separate window and download fact sheets for each state below.
State Fact Sheets
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia did not provide enough data for a fact sheet
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Selected Publications
- Life Without Parole Sentencing in North Carolina By: Brandon L. Garrett, Travis M. Seale-Carlisle, Karima Modjadidi, and Kristen M. Renberg in North Carolina Law Review (2020)
- Juvenile Life Without Parole in North Carolina By: Ben Finholt, Brandon L. Garrett, Karima Modjadidi, and Kristen M. Renberg in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (2020)