Before Life Meant Life: NPR interviews Prof. Simon on California's Growing Population of Lifers

Twenty years ago, when many California life sentenced prisoners first went to prison for second degree murder, they could reasonably expect to be paroled within 15 to 25 years if they took advantage of rehabilitative programming and kept their record free of disciplinary problems. Today those prisoners find themselves facing the likely prospect of dying in prison no matter what they do. The law remains the same, but the politics of parole has in fact amended it.

JSP Professor Jonathan Simon spoke with NPR correspondent Nancy Mullane, in a segment that aired during Morning Edition on Sunday, March 16.