This article analyzes the legal concept of reviewable life sentences, considering doctrinal precedents and the concept’s applicability in comparative law, in such countries as England, Spain, China, the United States, and others. The article also includes a legal study of the most relevant cases presented to international tribunals, like the European Human Rights Court and the Austrian, Swiss, and German High Courts, where life imprisonment sentences are subject to review after partial completion. Finally, the article analyzes the prohibition of life imprisonment in Colombia that stems from a constitutional mandate as well as from international-treaty commitments, and the legal precedents established by the country’s Constitutional Court and Supreme Court.