American Civil Liberties Union

In the United States each year, children as young as thirteen are sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison without any opportunity for release. Approximately 2,570 children are sentenced to juvenile life without parole or "JLWOP" in the United States. Despite a global consensus that children cannot be held to the same standards of responsibility as adults and recognition that children are entitled to special protection and treatment, the United States allows children to be treated and punished as adults.

ACLU Joins Others in Calling on CERD Committee to Consider Juvenile Life Without Parole in the United States
6/04/2009 - The ACLU joined other organizations in submitting a letter to the CERD Committee for its consideration in interpreting the United States responses to the Committee's recommendations. We urged the Committee to consider our clarifications on the use of Juvenile Life Without Parole sentences in the United States, and to reinforce the Committee's conclusion that the imposition of this sentence violates the treaty obligations of the United States and recognized customary international human rights law.
Read the letter to the CERD Committee >>
Learn more about our work before the CERD Committee >>

Petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Juveniles Sentenced to Life Imprisonment Without Parole
2/21/2006 - In February 2006, the ACLU, along with several other organizations, submitted a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, alleging that the human rights of juveniles sentenced to life without parole were being violated. The ACLU urged the IACHR to rule that sentencing children to mandatory life without the possibility of parole violates the Declaration of the Rights of Man and universal human rights principles.
Read the ACLU petition before the IACHR >>

"A death sentence is what the judge gave me. A long slow death. I would have rather been taken out and shot. I did not understand why I could not go to a place for kids my age." Learn Barbara's story:

"We are railroaded by an adult system that isn't equipped to properly handle juveniles." Learn Damion's story:

"I didn't know what was going on . . . . Through the trial I just kind of sat there." Learn Kevin's story:

While in prison, Henry completed his high school education, has earned vocational qualifications, and has exhausted all available programs and resources. Learn Henry's story: