The Abolishment of Life Sentences: Evaluating the Impacts of Capping California Prison Sentences at 15 Years

<a href="https://embed.stanford.edu/iframe/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpurl.stanford.edu%2Fht863rb5340" class="su-underline">Show Content</a>

Abstract/Contents

Abstract: The United States relies on life sentences and virtual life sentences much more than other countries, and the reliance on these long term and permanent sentences has been increasing despite a general decline in violent crime. In this thesis, I evaluate a hypothetical proposal to cap all prison terms at 15 years in California. I estimate the effects of such a proposal on both crime and costs for the state, and I also offer anecdotal evidence to capture how such a proposal would affect the lives of individuals who are formerly incarcerated. I estimate that the three-year recidivism rate of those who would be released under a 15-year cap would be 26% and that the state would see increased spending via social services and parole costs but increased savings via prison closures. The savings would outweigh the costs, with an estimated net savings of $13-18 billion in total accrued 15 years after the policy is implemented. Finally, I recommend that this policy change would be improved if it was paired with increased spending on rehabilitation and reentry services.

Type of resource	text
Date created	May 20, 2020

Subject	criminal justice
Subject	life sentence
Subject	recidivism
Subject	Stanford University Public Policy Department
Genre	Thesis

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/ht863rb5340

Use and reproduction: User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred Citation: Payne, Jordan. (2020). The Abolishment of Life Sentences: Evaluating the Impacts of Capping California Prison Sentences at 15 Years. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/ht863rb5340

Stanford University, Public Policy Program, Undergraduate Honors Theses and Practicum Projects

Loading usage metrics...