A sentence involving imprisonment in theory for the remainder of the convicted person's life. In the UK, it is the mandatory sentence for murder, and the maximum sentence for certain other crimes such as manslaughter and rape. In practice, the sentence usually means 15 years, followed by parole for life. A prisoner in England and Wales may be released on licence by the home secretary on the advice of the Parole Board, following consultation with the Lord Chief Justice and, if possible, the trial judge. The Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 provides for compulsory life sentence for an accused convicted for the second time of certain offences. In Scotland, the secretary of state for Scotland has the power to release persons on licence after consultation with the Lord Justice-General. When passing this sentence, the trial judge may recommend a minimum term of imprisonment, although this is not binding on the home secretary or the secretary of state for Scotland. In the USA, life imprisonment usually means 1030 years, at the end of which the prisoner may become eligible for parole by the Parole Board.
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Life imprisonment is a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment.
In places where the death penalty is a possible sentence for a serious crime, life imprisonment is usually treated as a much lesser alternative punishment. Of these, the United States has by far the largest number of people serving life sentences for crimes they committed as minors: 9,700, of which 2,200 are without the possibility of parole, as of October 2005. After 15 years parole is possible, if and when it can be assumed that the inmate will not engage in criminal behaviour any more. A life sentence is not applicable to persons who were younger than 21 years of age when committing the crime; these persons may get a sentence of up to 20 years. In Belgium, a life sentence is automatically changed into 30 years imprisonment. In Denmark, a life sentence theoretically means until death and the prisoner is not eligible for parole, however he is entitled to a pardoning hearing after 12 years and upon motion of the minister of justice, the Danish Queen may grant a pardon, on condition of a 5 years probation. In average prisoners with a life sentence serve 16 years, (a notable exception is Palle Sørensen; Criminals considered dangerous can be sentenced to indefinite detention, and such prisoners are kept in prison until they no longer are considered dangerous.In average they serve 9 years before being released and then they will remain on probation for 5 years. However prisoners eligible for a life sentence are usually not given indefinite detention, as it is considered a lesser sentence than life. In England and Wales, a life sentence is a prison term of indeterminate length and in some exceptionally grave cases, a recommendation can be made that a life sentence should mean life. A "Whole Life Tariff" (known in the US as "life without parole") exists for multiple murders which involve sexual abuse of children or terrorism, as well as any murderer who had come out of prison and killed again. For other murders the minimum starting point is a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years. The average sentence is about 15 years before the first parole hearing, although those convicted for heinous offences serve their sentences significantly longer - Ian Huntley was given a tariff of 40 years. Reggie Kray was serving a whole life sentence but was released on compassionate grounds in August 2000, as he was 67 years old, suffering from terminal cancer and had spent over 30 years behind bars. Prisoners jailed for life are released on a life licence if the parole board authorises their release. The new system is that after a life prisoner has been serving his/her sentence 12 years, he/she will be considered for parole. If the parole is rejected, a new parole hearing will be in 2 years. If the parole is accepted, 3 years of supervised parole follows until full parole, assuming no parole violations. If the convict has been less than 21 years old when committed the crime, the first parole hearing is after 10 years served. In France, life imprisonment (réclusion criminelle à perpétuité) lasts 30 years before being reexamined by a parole commission. Reduction of sentence applies from 30 years up to a security duration (période de sureté). This duration initially lasts 18 years, but it can be set up to a maximum of 22 years (article 132-23 of penal code, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr). In Germany, the minimum time to be served for a sentence of life imprisonment is 15 years, after which the prisoner can apply for parole. Especially because of the medial exploitation of some very cruel and shocking crimes tooking place in the last years, like the murder of little children after horrific sexual abuse, politicians mainly of the conservative parties CDU and CSU postulated, that the minimum term of 15 years should be raised to at least 20 or even 25 years. Until 1981, life imprisonment in Germany meant that a person sentenced to this had, if there was no mercy granted, to spend the rest of his life in prison. So, four years later, the Geman parliament introduced the possibility of parole after at least 15 years. If the verdict in the original trial includes an explicit finding of "exceptional severity of guilt" (in German: Besondere Schwere der Schuld), then the possibility of parole after 15 years is barred and the prisoner can apply for the first time significantly later, although there is no time fixed by law how much later this may be. After about 10 years of imprisonment, a specialised chamber (technical term in German: Strafvollstreckungskammer) of the criminal court which is responsible for the case sets a recommended minimum term to be served depending on the individual characteristics of the crime, in other words, a minimum time which is deemed just and appropriate for the severity of the crime. The average time served for a life sentence in Germany is around 17 - 19 years, and with a finding of "exceptional severity of guilt" it increases to 23 - 25 years. The time a person serving a life sentence has to remain in jail also may depend on the state in which the person is serving the sentence. In Greece, a "life term" lasts for 25 years, and one can apply for parole in 16 years. If sentenced to more than one life term, a person must serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole. In Norway, a life sentence is limited to 21 years. In Poland, the prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment must serve at least 25 years in order to be eligible to parole. Since the introduction of life imprisonment in 1997, such minimum term was never higher than 40 years. In Portugal, life imprisonment is limited to a maximum of 25 years, but the vast majority of long-term sentences never exceeds 20 years. In Russia After 25 years a criminal sentenced to life imprisonment can apply to a court for conditional early relief (Russian: условно-досрочное освобождение) if he has no serious violations of prison rules in the last 3 years and did not commit any serious crime during imprisonment. But since the law states that the most severe punishment is "prison for ten years or life", it is in practice never shorter than ten years.
Interpretation in North America
In Canada, life imprisonment means that the offender will be under supervision, whether in prison or in the community, for the rest of his or her life. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 25 years, but this number can range from only a few years up to the maximum. At the present time, the so-called Faint-Hope Clause, which specifies those serving a life term have a chance to apply for parole after 15 years, as opposed to the maximum of 25, is still in force. Moreover, the courts may apply a Dangerous Offender designation, which is in fact an indeterminate sentence: no minimum and no maximum, but parole review occurs every seven years. Life imprisonment often lasts until the prisoner dies, especially in cases where life imprisonment is imposed as alternative to the death penalty. For example, sentences of "15 years to life" or "25 years to life" may be given; this is called an "indeterminate life sentence," while a sentence of "life without the possibility of parole" is called a "determinate life sentence." Even when a sentence specifically denies the possibility of parole, government officials may have the power to grant amnesty or reprieves, or commute a sentence to time served. Under the federal criminal code, however, with respect to offenses committed after December 1, 1987, parole has been abolished for all sentences handed down by the federal system, including life sentences, so a life sentence from a federal court will result in imprisonment for the life of the defendant, unless a pardon or reprieve is granted by the President. A broad range of crimes can serve as the predicate act for a life sentence in the United States, ranging from petty theft to murder. Notably, the U.S. Supreme Court on several occasions has upheld lengthy sentences for petty theft including life with the possibility of parole and 50 years to life; In Mexico, life imprisonment is defined as any long and indeterminate sentence ranging from 20 years up to a maximum of 40 years. Ramón Mercader, the assassin who killed Leon Trotsky with an ice axe, served only a twenty year sentence before being released in 1960.Interpretation in Asia/Pacific
In Australia, criminals are sentenced in state courts, where for cases such as murder, State Supreme Courts can sentence criminals to a term such 15 years to life(or more or less, depending on the seveity of the crime). Some people serve sentence such as 33 years to life. In New Zealand, a life sentence is an indeterminate sentence given automatically for murder and treason, and is the maximum sentence for manslaughter. The default non-parole period for murder is 10 years, though in cases of particular violence the starting point is 17 years. This was reduced to 30 years on appeal, which remains the longest non-parole period on record.New Zealand also has an indefinite sentence of Preventive Detention, which is handed out for crimes other than treason or murder/manslaughter. Preventive detention has a minimum non-parole period of five years, and the sentencing judge may extend this if they believe that the offender's history warrants it.
Parole under NZ law is no longer automatic, and it is theoretically possible for a person sentenced to life or to preventive detention to remain in prison for the rest of their natural life. In India, life imprisonment means that a person has to serve at least 14 years in prison remission or commutation. In Japan, there is no sentence called "life sentence". Instead, it is called Muki Choeki, "indefinite sentence" (i.e life sentence with "possibility" of parole) and is the most severe punishment below the death penalty. When sentence is called Shushin Kei (Life sentence), it means life sentence without possibility of parole. A criminal who is sentenced to indefinite imprisonment has to spend at least 10 years in custody before he gets the possibility to be paroled. Similarly, even second degree murder might be given 5-7 years, usually paroled in 3-5 years if there was no previous conviction. Those who are against death penalty are calling for alternative longer sentence than 10 years before being able to get parole or actual "life sentence". In Vietnam, life imprisonment means, in principle, that the prisoner spend all of his life in prison.
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