World Prisons

Reform / Organisations

The Sentencing Project

national · founded 1986 · HQ United States

Verified 21 May 2026 · Data dated 21 May 2026
Fresh · 8d ago

US advocacy and research non-profit working to end mass incarceration and racial disparities in the justice system.

Founded in 1986, The Sentencing Project produces influential research on sentencing reform, juvenile justice, and felony disenfranchisement, and has documented racial disparities in the US criminal justice system for nearly four decades.

Focus areas

sentencingjuvenile justiceracial disparitiesvoting rights

Reports published by The Sentencing Project

  • Documents the explosion of US life-without-parole (LWOP) sentences since the 1980s. More than 56,000 people are serving LWOP, with the elderly and infirm population growing rapidly while posing minimal public safety risk. Argues that 'compassionate release' and parole-eligibility reforms could safely return thousands.

Initiatives involving The Sentencing Project