U.S. Courts repeatedly have recognized the salient differences between
adults and young offenders, most recently in a 2005 Supreme Court
decision abolishing the juvenile death penalty. International human
rights law also acknowledges those differences and requires governments
to take them into account.
The global rejection of life without parole (as well
as the death penalty) for young offenders is overwhelming: The
United States is an international anomaly.
The map below depicts the 13 countries, in addition
to the United States, that sentence young offenders to
life without parole. |