Life imprisonment – a sentence in dire need of reform
In this piece, Olivia Rope, Executive Director of Penal Reform International (PRI), discusses life sentences, a key priority area for PRI. PRI has highlighted the problematic use of life sentences for many years, in relation to their use as an alternative to the death penalty, and more recently through our work with the University of Nottingham to bring international attention - including from the United Nations - to the need for reform in view of increasing use of the sentence. A key publication on the topic is their 2018 policy briefing on life imprisonment.
A discussion about rights under threat and the consequences for women, people of colour, and marginalised groups, with Isabel Roby, legal and policy officer, Fair Trials (Latin America) and Hugo Leonardo, president of the Brazilian defence lawyers’ network, Instituto de Defesa do Direito de Defesa.
Laure Baudrihaye-Gérard, European legal director of Fair Trials, a worldwide criminal justice watchdog, and Diana Riba i Giner MEP (Greens/EFA), discuss the potential normalisation of digital hearings in the wake of the pandemic, and the importance of research evidence in creating solutions to end over-use of pre-trial detention. 
