The Sentencing Project's new report, The Lives of Juvenile Lifers, investigates the life experiences of individuals serving sentences of life without parole for offenses committed as juveniles and presents findings from the first-ever national survey of this population.  It provides a comprehensive look that offers new perspectives on people who committed crimes before the age of 18.

The full report can be viewed here.

Michigan has shrunk its prison population by more than 7,000 inmates since 2006 but some state legislators are considering whether shipping some of the state's 43,000 inmates to a private prison would make further reduce Michigan's $2 billion prison budget.

As the U.S. Supreme Court gets ready to examine life without parole for juvenile killers, a new study by The Sentencing Project identifies the racial and sociological back stories of the existing prisoners.

The Sentencing Project audio briefing on The Lives of Juvenile Lifers, the first-ever survey of juveniles servicing life without parole.

Participants included:

• Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project
• Ashley Nellis, Ph.D. research analyst at The Sentencing Project and author of the survey
• Mark Osler, Law Professor at the University of St. Thomas and a former federal prosecutor
• Linda L. White, retired college professor whose daughter was slain by two 15-year olds

 Listen here.

Despite promising signs in President Obama’s budget proposal aimed at curbing prison population growth, the federal budget still calls for new money to expand prison capacity, including contracting for 1,000 private prison beds.