Currently, there are 1,848 lifers in prison in Canada, with 400 of these facing 25 years before even being considered for parole. At the same time, there are 1,000 lifers serving their sentences in the community under parole supervision. The response to this situation varies dramatically. The public's fascination with convicted murderers ends with sentencing. The politicians to meet their basic needs.
Reformers criticize the government for regressive legislation and inordinately long sentences.
Lifers, after being told to put their lives on hold for the next 15 to 25 years, feel abandoned to stumble blindly through most of their sentence, resigning themselves to the deep freeze of endless time. When the release system kicks in at the magic parole-eligibility dates of 10 or 25 years, we are not releasing a violent or dangerous individual, but an institutionalized inmate poorly equipped to deal with independence and likely to be a liability to the community. Ours is a common-sense approach. One out of three lifers is currently in the community. More are coming.