Fighting to End Juvenile Life without Parole: The 25th Anniversary of the U.N. Convention of the Rights of the Child

On November 20, 1989, the United Nations passed the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United States, along with Somalia and South Sudan, remains one of the few nations that have failed to ratify the CRC, leaving the US as the only nation violating the CRC’s ban on juvenile life without parole and other harsh sentencing practices, such as trying children in adult courts.

Today, the United States incarcerates more children than any other nation. On the 25th Anniversary of the passage of the treaty, join national and local experts on how a children’s rights framework can be used to fight against harsh penalties for juveniles.

This webinar emphasizes legislative and judicial responses to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 ruling, Miller v. Alabama, which eliminated the use of mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles.

Presenters:

Xavier McElrath-Bey and James Dold, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
Josh Rovner, The Sentencing Project
Betsy Clarke, Juvenile Justice Initiative

The webinar slides are available here, and a video recording can be viewed here.

This webinar was sponsored by The Sentencing Project, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and the National Juvenile Justice Network.