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Child Life Without Parole
There are at least 2,225 child offenders serving life without parole (LWOP) sentences in U.S. prisons for crimes committed before they were age 18. A joint report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch finds that while serious crimes by youth are decreasing, the percentage of children receiving LWOP sentences is increasing.
The report, The Rest of Their Lives: Life Without Parole for Child Offenders in the United States, also finds that:
- A survey found that 59% of the convictions were for first time offenders.
- Black children are sentenced to LWOP ten times more often than white children.
- An estimated 26% of child offenders were convicted of "felony murder", which holds thatanyone involved in the commission of a serious crime during which someone is killed is also guilty of murder, even if he or she did not personally or directly cause the death.
- The 26 states with mandatory LWOP sentencing account for the overwhelming majority of child LWOP cases.
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