• US/California: Improve Proportionality in Drug Sentencing
    Letter
    Apr 11, 2013
    Human Rights Watch wrote to the California Senate Public Safety Committee in support of SB 649, which would grant prosecutors the discretion to charge individuals arrested for simple possession of illicit drugs with a misdemeanor rather than a felony, as well as give judges the ability to reduce a felony simple possession charge to a misdemeanor at the time of conviction.
  • Ban solitary confinement for youth in care of the federal government
    Commentary
    Apr 11, 2013
  • Florida: End Life Without Parole for Youth Offenders
    Letter
    Apr 5, 2013
    Human Rights Watch urged the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee to oppose Senate Bill (SB) 1350, Criminal Penalties. HRW believes that this bill is in violation of international human rights law.
  • 'Too Little Justice': Misdemeanor Defendants in the US
    Commentary
    Mar 22, 2013
    Indigent defendants in Midland, Texas are not receiving proper instructions regarding their right to counsel, a problem leading to uneducated plea bargains.
  • US: Maryland Expected to Abolish Death Penalty
    Press release
    Mar 15, 2013
    Maryland is on the verge of becoming the sixth US state in six years to abolish the death penalty, though five men may continue to sit on the state’s death row.
  • Letter to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Examine Incarceration of Youth in US Adult Prisons and Jails
    Letter
    Mar 11, 2013
    Human Rights Watch submitted an expert letter on the incarceration of youth offenders in adult prisons in the United States. We commend the commission for holding a hearing on this issue and engaging in a productive dialogue with the United States on this topic of grave importance to the human rights of children.
  • US: Injustices Filling the Prisons
    Press release
    Jan 31, 2013

    The enormous prison population in the United States partly reflects harsh sentencing practices contrary to international law, Human Rights Watch said in the US chapter of its World Report 2013.

  • Jailers should not be the judge, too
    Commentary
    Jan 9, 2013
    Les Miserables' Inspector Javert is one of those characters who defines "blind justice." Such is the power of his symbolism that today, our laws allow just the mercy that Javert denied. However, putting mercy into practice, such as in the form of compassionate release, is a challenge.
  • US: Human Rights Watch Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee
    Written statement
    Jan 4, 2013
    Human Rights Watch submitted this statement to inform the Human Rights Committee’s understanding of the US government’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).