Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-606 (2026)
Life imprisonment without parole
A person sentenced to life imprisonment without parole shall:
- Be remanded to the custody of the Division of Correction for imprisonment for the remainder of his or her life; and
- Not be released except pursuant to commutation, pardon, or reprieve of the Governor.
History. Acts 1975, No. 280, § 1305; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-1305; Acts 2019, No. 910, § 660.
Amendments. The 2019 amendment substituted “Division of Correction” for “Department of Correction” in (1).
Case Notes
Imposition.
A sentence of “life in prison” or “straight life” is distinguishable from “life imprisonment without parole”; the former sentence may be imposed for conviction on a Class Y felony, such as rape, but the latter sentence may be imposed only for conviction of capital murder. Logan v. Lockhart, 994 F.2d 1324 (8th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1057, 114 S. Ct. 722 (1994).
Possible Release.
Counsel was not ineffective for failing to make a meritless argument where the prosecutor objected to defense counsel's plea for the jury to impose a life sentence without parole, which he claimed would keep defendant from ever getting out of prison; the prosecutor correctly stated that a person sentenced to life imprisonment could be released pursuant to commutation, pardon, or reprieve of the governor. Greene v. State, 356 Ark. 59, 146 S.W.3d 871 (2004).
Circuit court did not err in concluding that petitioner failed to satisfy the prejudice prong of Strickland and, therefore, was not entitled to relief because the mere fact that the jury chose the more severe of two possible punishments was not a sufficient demonstration of prejudice in light of the aggravators found to exist by the jury; trial counsel's statement that petitioner could be pardoned if he received a life sentence, although unnecessary, was a correct statement of the law. Sales v. State, 2014 Ark. 384, 441 S.W.3d 883 (2014).