United States: thousands of children sentenced to life without parole

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There are at least 2,225 child offenders serving life without parole sentences in U.S prisons for crimes committed before they were age 18, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in a new joint report published today.

While many of the child offenders are now adults, 16 percent were between 13 and 15 years old at the time they committed their crimes. An estimated 59 percent were sentenced to life without parole for their first-ever criminal conviction. Forty-two states currently have laws allowing children to receive life without parole sentences.

source: Article 'United States: Thousands of Children Sentenced to Life without Parole'; www.hrw.org/news/2005/10/11/united-states-thousands-children-sentenced-life-without-parole; Human Rights Watch; 12 October 2005