As 2025 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on what the data tells us about the state of the criminal legal system — in Montana and nationwide. These are not just numbers. The data reflect policy choices, systemic failures, and the lived experiences of people, families, and communities impacted by incarceration. Taken together, the data reveal a system expanding in troubling ways, even as evidence shows safer and more effective alternatives are possible. While this information can be challenging to confront, it reinforces the urgency of our work and sets the stage for a focused and passionate year ahead as we continue advancing solutions rooted in fairness, accuracy, and accountability. Below are key insights from 2025 and why they matter to our work.
Montana’s Prison Population Is Growing Faster Than Nearly Anywhere Else
The data:
Montana’s prison population grew 32.4% between 2018 and 2023, the fastest growth rate in the country during that period.
Why this matters:
This growth is driven not by increased crime, but by policy choices — including sentencing practices and limited use of pathways out of incarceration such as parole. Addressing these systemic drivers is critical to reducing unnecessary incarceration, preventing harm, and ensuring the justice system functions as intended.
Montana Incarcerates More Women Than Most Places in the World
The data:
According to PPI’s States of Women’s Incarceration: The Global Context 2025, every U.S. state incarcerates women at rates higher than most independent nations. The U.S. holds roughly 25% of the world’s incarcerated women, despite having only about 4% of the global female population. Montana’s women’s incarceration rate is the second highest in the world, and more than 40% of incarcerated women in Montana are Native American.
Why this matters:
High incarceration rates among women — especially Indigenous women in Montana — destabilize families, separate caregivers from children, and compound trauma without improving public safety. These data reinforce the need for gender-responsive policies, second-chance reforms, and pathways to safely return women to their families and communities.
Read More about Women’s Incarceration Rates
Youth Incarceration Has Declined — But Disparities Persist
The data:
Youth incarceration nationwide has declined by nearly 75% since 2000, yet Black and Indigenous youth continue to be incarcerated at disproportionately high rates.
Why this matters:
The decline shows that alternatives to youth incarceration work. Persistent racial disparities reveal where the system continues to fail young people and highlight the importance of diversion, proportional accountability, and early intervention to prevent lifelong system involvement.
Read More about Youth Incarceration
Life Sentences Remain Widespread — and Often Invisible
The data:
A new national Life Sentences Dashboard from the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law tracks life with parole, life without parole, and “virtual life” sentences (50+ years) across all states. Currently, 1 in 6 imprisoned people is serving life. Since 1984, the number of life sentences has grown nearly fivefold, outpacing even the dramatic rise of the overall prison population.
Why this matters:
Life and virtual life sentences often remove access to release, rehabilitation, and review, even as people change. The growth in these sentences highlights reliance on extreme punishment and systemic inequities. Transparency and reform are critical to ensuring proportional, fair sentencing and meaningful second-chance opportunities if people are able to safely return to their communities.
Read More About Life Sentences
Wrongful Convictions in Death Penalty Cases
The data:
At least 200 people have been exonerated from death row since 1973. A 2025 ACLU report documents systemic failures — including official misconduct, faulty forensic evidence, and inadequate defense — behind many wrongful death penalty convictions.
Why this matters:
The irreversible nature of the death penalty magnifies the consequences of error. Addressing these failures through oversight, safeguards, and review is essential to protecting innocent lives and preventing injustices as permanent as execution.
Read More About Death Row Exonerations
Exonerations Reveal Systemic Misconduct
The data:
Official misconduct is associated with more than 60% of known exonerations documented in the National Registry of Exonerations.
Why this matters:
This data challenges the idea that wrongful convictions are rare or accidental. Instead, it reveals recurring patterns — including withheld evidence, coercive practices, and false testimony — that undermine trust in the justice system. Identifying and addressing these failures is essential to preventing future wrongful convictions and ensuring accountability.
Read More About Official Misconduct
Parole Systems Are Breaking Down
The data:
The Prison Policy Initiative found that parole systems across 35 states are increasingly restrictive. Boards often deny release for reasons applicants cannot change, override their own risk assessments, and limit meaningful hearings — turning parole from a second-chance opportunity into an extension of punishment.
Why this matters:
When parole is effectively unattainable, people spend longer in prison than necessary, increasing the personal, social, and financial costs of incarceration. Rebuilding parole as a meaningful path to reintegration aligns with our work to reduce unnecessary incarceration and advance fair, evidence-based policies.
Read More About Parole
Looking Ahead
Data alone does not create change, but it shows us where change is urgently needed. These trends reinforce our strategic focus on second-chance reform, post-conviction relief, and policies that reduce the risk of unjust incarceration while promoting true public safety.
As we move into 2026, we remain committed to building a system rooted in fairness, accuracy, and humanity.