Executive Summary: The Rest of Their Lives
Life without Parole for Youth Offenders in the United States in 2008
In this update to Human Rights Watch's work on eliminating the sentence of life without parole for juvenile offenders, a number of findings are presented that illustrate the troublesome nature of the sentence and how it is applied to youthful offenders. Among those findings are that 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.
May 13, 2008 Background Briefing
The reasons why juveniles are not trusted with the privileges and responsibilities of an adult also explain why their irresponsible conduct is not as morally reprehensible as that of an adult” CLICK ON LINKS AND (PHOTO'S)
-- Rodney Hulin, 16, writing to his father from an adult prison in Texas.
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
LIFE WITHOUT HOPE
(Narrated by Diane Keaton) Listen to this program now
Dad, I'm really scared.
Scared that I will die in here.
Why ARE CHILDREN 18 YEARS OLD AND YOUNGER tried as an adults? Why are they continuing to sentence these children to prison for the rest of their lives? A minor is defined as anyone under the age of 18 years of age and prohibited by law from doing anything that ADULTS are permitted. These laws were made to protect our children from their immaturity.
Yet, when accused of a crime they are deemed mature enough to pay the consequences as an adult. Did I miss something? How can they be mature in one regard and immature in others? The only adult right they are allowed by law, is the right to be sentenced and punished as an adult.
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CHILDHOOD INTERRUPTED
