In all states that use the death penal­ty, there are pro­vi­sions for sen­tenc­ing inmates to the alter­na­tive sen­tence of life with­out parole (LWOP). Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s rul­ing in Simmons v. South Carolina (1994), some states with LWOP did not inform the jury of this alter­na­tive even when so request­ed by the defense. Today, states apply a vari­ety of con­di­tions and use dif­fer­ing instruc­tions to inform the jury about this alter­na­tive sen­tence. Opinion polls and sur­veys of cap­i­tal jurors have shown how impor­tant this alter­na­tive is in death penal­ty cas­es. Thanks to the research of Emma Reynolds of Drexel Law School and Intern at the Philadelphia Federal Defender, Capital Habeas Unit, we are able to offer a sum­ma­ry of how states han­dle this key issue. Her paper, ​“Survey of Life Without Parole Instructions in Death Penalty States,” pro­vides the rel­e­vant statute and infor­ma­tion about jury instruc­tions in each death penal­ty state. As with any legal research, it would be impor­tant to research any changes in the law before using this infor­ma­tion (e.g., New Mexico has now abol­ished the death penal­ty and replaced the sen­tence with LWOP). The table of statutes and instruc­tions is pro­vid­ed in both pdf and Excel format:

Survey of Life Without Parole Instructions in Death Penalty States (pdf)

Survey of Life Without Parole Instructions in Death Penalty States (Excel).

(E. Reynolds, ​“Survey of Life Without Parole Instructions in Death Penalty States,” Philadelphia Federal Defender, July 2009). See Life Without Parole and Studies. Posted Aug. 26, 2009.

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