• The Campaign to End Life Without Parole

  • What is CELWOP?


  • The Campaign to End Life without Parole (CELWOP), a newly formed coalition, is working to coordinate a state-wide drive to increase public awareness of life without parole sentences in Massachusetts and to galvanize public support to end LWOP.

  • CELWOP complements efforts by Massachusetts lawmakers to secure passage of H1797, legislation that would eliminate LWOP by mandating parole review eligibility in all instances starting at 25 years of incarceration. The measure would also establish restorative justice programs geared to men and women incarcerated in Massachusetts on sentences in excess of 25 years.

  • Connecting with faith-based groups, unions, schools and colleges, community-based and activist organizations, CELWOP seeks to challenge the media-driven false narrative that people convicted of violent offenses are irredeemable and undeserving of a second chance.

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  • Press conference

  • CNN: Violent crimes convicts rarely rearrested for same crime

  • A new report released by The Sentencing Project on Wednesday shows, in part, that serving multiple decades behind bars is not an effective deterrent to decrease violent crimes and that recidivism rates among individuals who were convicted of violent crime such as homicide were less likely to get rearrested for the same offense.

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  • SPECIAL FEATURE: The fight for life in Massachusetts

  • The Bay State has a fraught history of sentencing people to serve life without parole. Now lawmakers have a chance to end the bad deal Beacon Hill made to trade the death penalty for natural life sentences.

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  • New Video from the New England Innocence Project on Life Without Parole

  • "Life without parole sentences are extremely costly, harm our communities, and do not improve public safety. For these reasons, the New England Innocence Project strongly supports H1797 to end LWOP in Massachusetts."

  • To end mass incarceration we must address life sentences.

  • Per the Sentencing Project:

  • A record one of every seven people in U.S. prisons is serving a life sentence. While most have committed a violent offense, research finds that people age out of criminal behavior — producing diminishing returns for public safety.

  • The financial and moral costs of life imprisonment also burden communities by diverting vital resources from crime prevention and social intervention programs.

  • This country needs a crime policy rooted in research and mercy. It’s time to end life imprisonment.

    • The Campaign to End Life Without Parole

  • Upcoming Events

  • Join CELWOP at upcoming events.

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  • Learn more about the Campaign to End Life Imprisonment in Massachusetts

  • Want to get involved? 

  • Learn how!