Record number of `lifers' in U.S. prisons, study finds

The Miami Herald reports:

Tougher sentencing laws and restrictions on parole in Florida and other states have resulted in a record number of criminals serving life sentences, according to a new national study.

The report by the Sentencing Project found 140,160 individuals serving life terms in state and federal prisons, including 6,607 juveniles, two of them Floridians whose cases are under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Florida, the report said, 11.3 percent of prison inmates are serving life, and 53 percent of them are African American and 19 percent Hispanic. Also, 6,424 Florida inmates are serving life without parole.

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