US condemned for jailing children for life

At least 2,225 child offenders are serving life sentences without parole in the US, compared to a total of 12 elsewhere in the world, two leading human rights groups said in urging the US government to abolish a practice that violates international law.

In the first study to investigate the US practice of jailing youths for life in adult prisons without the possibility of parole, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International found the rate at which the sentence is imposed on children nationwide is about three times higher than it was 15 years ago.