UNJUST PUNISHMENT

A Life Sentence is Death by Incarceration

At Innocence & Justice Louisiana, we fight for individuals whose sentences are excessive, inhumane, and fail to reflect their actual culpability or the circumstances that led to their conviction. These are Unjust Punishment Cases—where a person may not be innocent of the crime, but their punishment is fundamentally unfair.

In Louisiana, more than 4,000 people are serving life sentences. Hundreds are incarcerated under Louisiana’s habitual offender law—a statute rooted in the Slave Code, designed to punish individuals more harshly for prior offenses. The law’s racist legacy remains evident today: although prosecutors have discretion to pursue habitual offender enhancements, three-quarters of the people serving these sentences are Black. Louisiana law also allows for life sentences as a habitual offender even when the triggering conviction was for a nonviolent crime. Other sentencing laws—such as accomplice liability statutes and harsh mandatory minimums—further contribute to people serving unnecessarily long and unjust prison terms.

Thomas Swinner

Innocence & Justice Louisiana’s legal team actively works to reduce sentences, secure parole, and advocate for sentencing that considers the whole person—not just the crime. We believe that a just legal system must allow for redemption, proportionality, and compassion—and we fight every day to make that vision a reality.

Our Unjust Punishment Clients

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Convict leasing, non-unanimous jury verdicts, and Jim Crow laws ensure oppression of Black people, which is most visible at Angola State Penitentiary, where even today men are forced to pick cotton while earning 2 to 4 cents an hour as armed guards stand watch.

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Meeting in person with incarcerated clients is crucial to our work to free them. Every prison visit demands significant time and travel expenses. With your support, we can continue our work for those who have been unjustly sentenced.

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