Decades behind bars. A new journey begins. Listen to their stories.
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About Lifer Records
Lifer Records is a collection of oral history interviews with people who have experienced long-term incarceration in the state of California. Due to recent legal victories and policy changes more and more people who were sentenced to life are getting the chance to return to their communities. Lifer Records documents the lived experiences of those who have survived decades of incarceration and finally have access to their freedom. These are their stories, told in their own words, and true to their life.
What is a "Lifer"
Lifers refer to themselves as lifers, and because of this, it is the general term this project uses to describe people who have experienced life sentences or long-term incarceration. It refers to those who have served life sentences in prison, such as 25-to-life or 10-to-life. A lifer is required to serve their minimum number of years, such as 25 years or 10 years, and afterwards is eligible for parole. Parole is reviewed and granted by both the parole board and the governor in California. The term also includes people who are sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, who can only acquire their freedom through commutation. Click here to learn more about language use around incarceration.
Featured Story
Interviewee describes how his reputation in the SHU smoothed his transition onto a level 4 general population yard.
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The interviewee describes how vital it was to build a social network in prison, but still having to become emotionally numb to survive.
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The interviewee talks about taking responsibility for his part in the crime, his path towards personal growth, and his friends still inside.
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Challenges
Growth
Who created this project and why?
This project was created by the Restorative Justice Fund. The Restorative Justice Fund is a justice reform non-profit based in Los Angeles, California. This project's goal is to give people who served life sentences the opportunity to share their life experiences in their own voice. The project hopes hearing these testimonies will help make the human impact of lengthy sentencing practices more “real” and help decrease some of the stigma surrounding those who have received long sentences. Funding has been provided by California Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. We are deeply grateful for the generous support we have received from local organizations LACA, the Francisco Homes, and Mass Liberation. Please consider making a donation to these wonderful reentry and community organizations.
What is the recent history of life sentences in California?
For the first time in decades, people with life sentences in California are being granted an opportunity to come home. Between 1990 and 2010, a person sentenced to life in California had only a six percent chance of leaving prison alive. By 2010, lifers made up 20% (33,000) of the California prison population. During this period, California governors were highly reluctant to approve parole recommendations. For example, Governor Davis (1999-2003), only approved two percent of parole recommendations.
In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Plata initiated a shift in state parole policy and practice under Governor Brown (2011-2019) commonly referred to as “realignment.” With the addition of voter-approved state initiatives, such as Prop 47 and Prop 57, California experienced a 25% drop in its general prison population. Specifically, for people sentenced to life, recent voter initiatives that require youth offender parole hearings and the elderly parole program have greatly increased the number of people with life sentences eligible for parole. Significantly, Governor Brown also took a decidedly more favorable stance to parole recommendations than his recent predecessors, approving 82% of them. In the four-year period from 2014 to 2018, there has been a little over double the number of people with life sentences released compared to the prior two decades.
People who have had a life sentence have an incredibly high success rate in reentry, with 99 percent not returning to prison after their release. They also contribute to community service at high rates. Many of the parole reforms in California in the last decade have been driven by community advocacy and voter initiatives. And there is still more work to be done. Tens of thousands of lifers in California are still waiting for their opportunity to show the parole board, the governor, and society the many ways they have transformed their lives.
What can I do to help?
If you would like help people incarcerated in California, you can start by advocating, volunteering, or donating to organizations that support people inside. This is an abbreviated list of organizations in California.