Prisión perpetua y dignidad humana. Una reflexión tras la muerte de Manuel Contreras

The recognition of human dignity and the respect for fundamental rights cannot be limited to a certain category of human beings. The possibility of conceiving nonpersons to whom a "Criminal Law of the Enemy" may be applied, is not compatible with the liberal conception of Penal Law as a last resort. The humanization of Criminal Law is manifested by the growing number of contemporary societies that have suppressed or limited the death penalty. Nevertheless, life or long-term imprisonment sentences still prevail, and are increasing, despite lacking a theoretical or philosophical justification in the laws that prescribe them. In this article we will try to answer various questions regarding a possible justification for life imprisonment. We will examine the different theories about the aim of sentencing in order to determine, with each of them, whether it is possible to justify life imprisonment or other long-term incarceration sentences.