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A few countries allow for a minor to be given a life sentence without parole; these include but are not limited to: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina (only over the age of 16), Australia, Belize, Brunei, Cuba, Dominica
Formal life imprisonment exists in 183 countries. Life with parole is the most common type of life imprisonment – in 144 countries there is some provision for release. 65 countries impose life without parole sentences. In some countries, the length of time served under a life sentence also appears to be rising .
• 33 countries do not impose life imprisonment or the death penalty as the ultimate sanction. • LWP is the most common type of life imprisonment in the world. In 144 of the 183 countries with formal life imprisonment, there is some provision for release. • 65 countries impose LWOP sentences.
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183 out of 216 countries and territories have formal life imprisonment. All states of the US, with the exception of Alaska, can impose a life sentence for non-violent offences, and in 22 states these sentences can be without the possibility of parole.
The Index reports that life sentences are imposed for drug supply offences ‘frequently’ (in 16 to 40% of cases) in Nepal and Thailand, and ‘very frequently’ (in 41 to 80% of cases) in Indonesia and Lebanon; in these four countries, life sentences are imposed without the possibility of parole.
Countries that allow life imprisonment without a possibility of parole for juveniles include Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Dominica, Israel, Nigeria, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and the United States.
By contrast, States within the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, influenced by the strong restrictions on detention introduced after the collapse of Portugal's Estado Novo regime, have almost all prohibited life imprisonment of children.