US leads world in jailing children for life

[depakid]

Source: The Age

THE United States has far more juveniles serving life terms than any other country — 2387. Israel, the only other country that imprisons juveniles for life, according to a new study by the University of San Francisco's Centre for Law & Global Justice, has seven — and has not issued such a sentence since 2004.

In the US, life terms have fallen disproportionately on non-white children, who are 10 times more likely than white children to be given life without parole, the report found.

The study, titled Sentencing Children to Die in Prison, also found that in California, black juveniles are 20 times more likely to receive such sentences.

"For many children, (life without parole) is an effective death sentence," said Michelle Leighton, chief author of the study, which found 51% of such children were first-time offenders.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/11/19/1195321693756.html?s_rid=smh:top5

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Let the eagles soar!

I am so proud to be an american.

Hot Shots for Tikes!

[pattmarty]

2. That's just reason 952 for me to move to Spain.

[ohio2007]

3. adios

Ga. Boys Ages 8 and 9 Charged With Rape -
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=80c_1195570679

Ever consider moving to a place where kids are scared straight by the justice system ?

Iran Executed 3 Ahwazi students
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2dc_1195708881


oh

happy thanksgiving

[pattmarty]

17. Yeah, this ain't your fathers country anymore, that's for sure.

[boricua79]

7. i've been thinking about doing the same

since I'm latino.

If this shit gets ugly...southern coast of Spain for me!

[balantz]

4. We are an ill nation.

And the doctor's out of town.

[Catch22Dem]

5. What's the difference between murder at 17 and murder at 18? (n/t)

[balantz]

8. And what's the difference

between a society that invests in prevention vs. a society that relies on prisons to weed out the results of a failed system of education?

[slackmaster]

10. We definitely need to put more energy into prevention, but there are a few

Who will not respond to it. I've met one for sure, maybe two of them in my life.

[balantz]

11. I've met many who appear to be like that.

But I wouldn't blame it all on genetics. I'd blame it more on a screwed up culture with countless numbers of screwed up families covering many generations. As I said above, we are an ill nation.

[boricua79]

6. GOOOODDD BLESSS AMERICCCAAAAA

My hooooommmmeee sweettt....hoommmeeeeee! :sarcasm::eyes: :puke:

[slackmaster]

9. I wonder how many of those 2,387 actually need to be jailed for life

I suspect that a subset of them present a real threat to public safety at any age. There are a few people who are born without a capacity for empathy, and cannot be trusted to wander freely among normal people.

[proReality]

14. You're right...they're called neo-cons. eom

[Lydia Leftcoast]

20. For example, Kip Kinkle, the Springfield High School shooter

One of my friends, a clinical social worker, saw a documentary about him and said, "That kid's not evil. He's mentally ill. He's so obviously mentally ill that he should have been hospitalized long before the shooting incident."

Yet he was sentenced to life in prison at age 15. And given the vindictiveness that prevails in rural Oregon (and elsewhere) these days, I bet that relatives of his victims will show up at every parole hearing whining about how he should have gotten the death penalty.

[LisaL]

23. If a schooter is sentenced as a juvenile, then he would

get out at 21. You think that's justice, or society just magically becomes safe from the school shooter after he turns 21. As for vindictiveness of the victims, give me a break. Do you think it makes any difference to them as to how old he was? Their loved ones would be just as dead, regardless.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. Yes, but it makes a difference whether the person can be rehabilitated

A person who kills because of mental illness (my clinical social worker friend thought major depression, which can manifest itself as violence in teenage boys) has a chance of being rehabilitated.

One of the signs that it was major depression was that when Kinkle was finally subdued, he begged the people to kill him. He was trying to commit "suicide by cop."

[LisaL]

26. I wouldn't want living next to someone like Kip Kinkle, after

Drs. have decided he has been "rehabilitated."

[Honeycombe8]

12. Well, more info is needed in order to compare, really.

Not just the # of juveniles jailed, but the # of juveniles jailed vs. the # of juveniles who were found guilty or confessed of violent crimes in the U.S......VERSUS the same numbers in other industrialized nations.

Then we'd also need the violent crime rates of the various nations (the U.S. is one of the most violent).

Then we'd also need information on how rigorous and successful each country is at going after violent criminals. There may be some countries that have more violent crime than the U.S., but they either don't or can't vigorously go after the perpetrators.

Just giving one stat doesn't really tell the whole story of any issue, esp. when comparing nations.

[depakid]

13. Seems to me it's a pretty telling stat

although it's also true that America imprisons more people than any other nation, both in terms of raw numbers and the per capita incarceration rate.

Pretty sad, and destined to get worse.

[Honeycombe8]

21. On the face of it, it doesn't sound good. Which is why the stat was printed...

in the first place.

But if there were 1,000 juveniles who confessed or were found guilty, and 500 were jailed in Country A.....

And if there were 5 juveniles who confessed or were found guilty, and 5 were jailed in Country B.....

And then if there were 5,000 juveniles who confessed or were found guilty, and 1,000 were jailed in Country C....

Which country jails the most violent juveniles? On the face of it, Country C does. 1,000 juveniles vs. 500 and 5 juveniles.

But looking more closely, Country C jails 20%, while Country B jails 100%, and Country A jails 50%.

So Country C jails the fewest violent juveniles, in reality. Though the stat of 1,000 juveniles jailed would seen to indicate otherwise.

[pattmarty]

18. How many "then we really needs" do you have to have?

[Honeycombe8]

22. ?????? Your sentence doesn't make sense. Wanna re-state? nt

[LynnTheDem]

15. We're #1!!! We're #1!!!

JAIL; it's The American Way! And we're also #1 for number of own citizens jailed!

America = FREEDOM!!!

Third-world nation? No fucking kidding.

[Summer93]

16. Monkey see monkey do.....

Who sets the example of the acceptable behavior? The leader.

The leader of the country with the most incarcerations of children shows that lying, cheating, stealing and killing are the behaviors to be emulated if you want to be a leader.
:sarcasm:

[greiner3]

19. In order to keep the jails full;

So that all the private companies won't have to lay off all those jailers, I propose to make it illegal to be a republican. Neo cons would face summary execution. Maybe some of the trolls on this page can respond to this one!

[Darth Lenore]

25. People in this country are finally putting children first...

...unfortunately, these people are the prosecutors. D'oh!