The Rest of Their Lives: Life without Parole for Child Offenders in the United States

Source: Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
"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. In 1990, for example, 2,234 children were convicted of murder and 2.9 percent sentenced to life without parole. By 2000, the conviction rate had dropped by nearly 55 percent (1,006), yet the percentage of children receiving LWOP sentences rose by 216 percent (to nine percent)."