Children in Adult Prison

Across the United States, thousands of children have been sentenced as adults and sent to adult prisons. Over 2200 juveniles nationwide have been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Children as young as 13 years old have been tried as adults and sentenced to die in prison, typically without any consideration of their age or circumstances of the offense.

Many young children in America are imperiled by abuse, neglect, domestic and community violence, and poverty. Without effective intervention and help, these children suffer, struggle, and fall into despair and hopelessness. Some young teens cannot manage the emotional, social, and psychological challenges of adolescence and eventually engage in destructive and violent behavior. Sadly, many states have ignored the crisis and dysfunction that creates child delinquency and instead have subjected kids to further victimization and abuse in the adult criminal justice system.

For children with parole-eligible sentences, unique release and re-entry challenges too often create insurmountable obstacles to parole and successful re-entry. Young people who have been in prison since they were adolescents need help learning basic life skills.

News

EJI to Argue Case Challenging Death in Prison Sentence Imposed on 14-Year-Old California Boy

Next week, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will argue in the California Court of Appeal on behalf of Antonio Nunez, who was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility for parole for his involvement at age fourteen in a kidnapping offense in which no one was injured.

EJI Releases Preview of Film "Cruel and Unusual: Sentencing 13- and 14-Year-Old Children to Die in Prison"

EJI has released a short preview version of the upcoming film, Cruel and Unusual: Sentencing 13- and 14-Year-Old Children to Die in Prison.

EJI Director to Testify Before Congress on Sentencing Young Children to Die in Prison

On Thursday, September 11, 2008, EJI Director Bryan Stevenson will testify before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security during hearings on H.R. 4300, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act.

New Book on Teens Sentenced Harshly Wins Praise

Author Susan Kuklin's newest book, No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row, presents the stories of individuals who were sentenced to death or life without parole for crimes committed when they were teenagers, including two EJI clients in Alabama.

United Nations Experts Examine Racism in the United States

On May 26, 2008, United Nations Special Rapporteur on racism Doudou Diene heard testimony from EJI Executive Director Bryan Stevenson as part of his field mission to examine racism in the United States. Mr. Stevenson detailed evidence of racial bias against African Americans, Latinos, and other racial minorities, from the administration of the death penalty to the treatment of children in the criminal justice system.
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