• Excessive Punishments and Restrictions

    We oppose the death penalty in all cases as inherently cruel. We also work to change criminal sentences that are disproportionately severe relative to the crime and the culpability of the individual offender, including the sentencing of juvenile offenders to life without the possibility of parole and long sentences set by mandatory sentencing laws for low level drug offenses. These sentences violate human rights laws binding on the United States that prohibit cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and require that juvenile offenders be treated in accordance with their age and capacity for rehabilitation. We also oppose the imposition of arbitrary and disproportionate restrictions in lieu of, or in addition to, criminal punishment, such as restrictions on access to public housing, the right to vote, or choice of residence.

  • © 2012 Human Rights Watch
    US: Prison Officials Thwart Compassionate Release
    The Federal Bureau of Prisons blocks all but a few federal prisoners from compassionate release, Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) said in a report released today. The 128-page report is the first comprehensive examination of how compassionate release in the federal system works.
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Excessive Punishment and Restrictions

  • Incapacitated Prisoners Too Costly to Keep
    Dec 28, 2012
  • US: Prison Officials Thwart Compassionate Release
    Nov 30, 2012
    The Federal Bureau of Prisons blocks all but a few federal prisoners from compassionate release, Human Rights Watch and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) said in a report released today. The 128-page report is the first comprehensive examination of how compassionate release in the federal system works.
  • US/New York: Few Arrested for Pot Become Violent Criminals
    Nov 23, 2012

    Few of those who enter New York City’s criminal justice system as a result of marijuana possession arrests become dangerous criminals

  • Ban Solitary Confinement of Children
    Nov 7, 2012
    Solitary confinement is a bad idea for prisoners of any age. It is costly, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners and exacerbates mental health problems. All of that is never more evident than when young people are isolated in tiny cells. This practice should be banned.
  • US/California: ‘Three-Strikes’ Vote a Humane Step
    Nov 7, 2012
    Voters’ approval of Proposition 36, which limits the reach of California’s “three-strikes” statute, is an important step toward a more humane sentencing system in the state.
  • US/California: Continue Effort to Halt Death Penalty
    Nov 7, 2012
    California voters’ failure to abolish the death penalty perpetuates a barbaric practice and places the state out of step with national trends
  • US/Pennsylvania: Don't Codify Excessive Sentences for Children
    Oct 19, 2012
    Human Rights Watch writes to urge Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to veto Senate Bill 850, which would maintain life without parole sentences as an option for child offenders. The bill would codify excessive sentences for children that are inconsistent with international human rights law to which all US states are bound.
  • How Not to Rehabilitate Young Prisoners
    Oct 18, 2012
    Prisons across the country rely too much on solitary confinement for prisoners young and old. It costs too much, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners and exacerbates mental health problems. All of that is never more evident than when young people are locked away in solitary. It is time to ban the practice.
  • US: Teens in Solitary Confinement
    Oct 10, 2012

    Young people are held in solitary confinement in jails and prisons across the United States, often for weeks or months at a time.

  • US/California: New Hope for Youth Offenders
    Sep 30, 2012

    The law on youth sentencing signed by Governor Jerry Brown of California on September 30, 2012, provides hope for nearly 300 youth offenders sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Human Rights Watch said today. The new law, Senate Bill 9, will allow people who were under age 18 at the time of their crime to ask the sentencing court to review their case and consider a new sentence permitting parole after serving 25 years in prison.

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