Download or read book Life Imprisonment written by Dirk van Zyl Smit and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-14 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life imprisonment has replaced the death penalty as the most common sentence imposed for heinous crimes worldwide. Consequently, it has become the leading issue of international criminal justice reform. In the first survey of its kind, Dirk van Zyl Smit and Catherine Appleton argue for a human rights–based reappraisal of this harsh punishment.