Whenever this topic comes up, I like to link to this [1] study done by the ACLU. It is a study on people that have received life without parole for nonviolent offenses. It is truly shocking that US lawmakers have allowed even one of these sentences to happen. The "land of the free" is anything but. Here's one of the more salient quotes:
"...thousands of people are serving life
sentences without the possibility of parole for nonviolent crimes as petty as siphoning gasoline from an 18-wheeler, shoplifting three belts, breaking into a parked car and stealing a woman’s bagged lunch, or possessing a bottle cap smeared with heroin residue."
"...thousands of people are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for nonviolent crimes as petty as siphoning gasoline from an 18-wheeler, shoplifting three belts, breaking into a parked car and stealing a woman’s bagged lunch, or possessing a bottle cap smeared with heroin residue."
[1] https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/111813-lwop-complete-repor...