Lifetime Supervision: Compilation of State Policies Concerning Individuals Convicted of a Sex Offense

By Lauren Knoth-Peterson, Whitney Hunt

The purpose of this resource is to identify whether states have established unique sentencing policies for individuals convicted of a sex offense authorizing community supervision for life. In states where lifetime supervision policies were identified, we also examined whether the state has an established pathway off of lifetime supervision status. This resource highlights each state’s relevant statutes to lifetime supervision policies with the green text emphasizing the pathway off of supervision (when applicable). There are limitations to this resource. First, we looked only for unique sentencing policies for individuals convicted of a sex offense. In some instances, states may have general

indeterminate sentencing structures by which convicted defendants may end up under supervision orders for life. For example, states may allow defendants sentenced to life in prison to apply for parole. If granted, parole may include community supervision for life, consistent with the underlying life incarceration sentence. Since these parole policies are not unique to sex offenses, but instead are applicable only when the court explicitly imposes a life sentence, we did not include these statutes in this report. For example, Idaho is an indeterminate sentencing state with a parole system. In some cases, individuals convicted of a sex offense may receive a sentence of life incarceration with the possibility of parole. If paroled, those individuals would be under parole supervision for the remainder of their sentence, which is for life. The Board of Correction in Idaho may submit a request to the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole for early termination of parole after serving at least 5 years on parole. However, since these parole policies do not apply to all sex offenses and are related to the underlying life imprisonment sentence and standard parole processes, we do not include these statutes in this report. State laws frequently change. Please note that any statutory language included in this document may be subject to change over time, and readers should verify that statutes have not been amended after publication of this resource.

Olympia, WA: Washington State Office of Financial Management, Public Safety Policy & Research Center. 2025. 96p.