Criminal punishment is a measure of state coercion and a means of correcting and re-educating the convicted which is applied by the courts, in the name of the law, to people who have committed crimes, causing certain deficiencies and restrictions on their rights and with the aim of restoring social equity, correction and re-socialization of the convict, as well as prevention of the commission of new crimes both by the convicts and by other persons. The global trend towards the universal restriction and abolition of capital punishment has led most European countries to regulate life imprisonment as the last and most severe criminal punishment, applied by national courts to people who have committed the most serious crimes. The sentence of life imprisonment in Europe has clearly received some attention in terms of inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment within the meaning of art. 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In order for a life sentence to respect art. 3, it should meet certain requirements, which may violate art. 3 if it contains certain characteristics or if certain crucial conducts on the part of the national legal authorities are missing.