Stop throwing people away! Rehabilitate instead.

Life without parole sentences are meant to act as a deterrent to potential criminals, as well as punishment to those found guilty of a crime, but the deterrent has not worked and the punishment is cruel and excessive. People still offend and juvenile offenders are rarely the same people they were when they committed the offense. Life without the possibility of parole has resulted in the overcrowding of prisons and tax payers footing the bill for babysitting criminals. It's time to rehabilitate instead of throwing people away. End Life without parole sentences.Make parole a mandatory possibility after 20 yrs. in prison but conditional upon these conditions:1.Ongoing mental health and/or substance abuse treatment during the duration of their sentence 2. working 40 hrs. a week doing work at the prisons, without pay as training to develop work skills.3.Mandatory participation in a community reintegration and job search program upon release. 4.All other normal parole conditions.