The USA is one of two only countries not to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which among other commitments to protecting persons under the age of 18, forbids life sentences without parole. The other country is Somalia.
- 2,225: Inmates serving life without parole for crimes committed as minors
- 42: States that allow life without parole for minors
- 14: States that have no minimum age for life sentences
- 73: Documented cases of minors serving life without parole for crimes committed as 13-, 14-year-olds
- 44: States that passed laws between 1992 and 1997 making it easier try minors as adults
According to a Human Rights Watch publication from 2008,
..the United States is alone in the world in applying this harsh sentence to juveniles, that an estimated 59 percent of youth who receive the sentence had no prior adjudications or convictions, and that there are currently nearly 2,500 offenders who are serving life without parole for crimes committed while they were a juvenile. Additionally, data reveal that there are stark racial disparities in the imposition of the sentence, with black youth serving life without parole at a per capita rate that is 10 times the rate of white youth.
Of course, then there is Guantanamo:
The detainees were brought to Guantanamo between the ages of 15 and 17, and have now been in detention there for more than six years. [hrw]
Each of these five individuals has been held in US custody for over six years, but has been denied basic juvenile justice protections or special consideration because of their potential status as former child soldiers. [hrw]
Makes you think.
[Articles: Colorlines, Spiegel, Human Rights Watch 1 2 3, msnbc, cnn]