Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

The U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development has endorsed a national campaign to end the practice of sentencing people under the age of 18 to life in prison without possibility of parole. “While there is no question that violent and dangerous youth need to be confined for their safety and that of society, the [conference] does not support provisions that treat children as though they are equal to adults in their moral and cognitive development,” said Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman of the committee. “Life sentences without parole eliminate the opportunity for rehabilitation or second chances.” The federal government and 38 states allow youths to be sentenced to life without possibility of parole. Currently, over 2,500 young people are serving such sentences. According to Amnesty International, the United States is the only country that imposes this sentence upon children.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV greets religious sisters during a meeting with officials and employees of the Roman Curia, Vatican City State and the Diocese of Rome in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican May 24, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Describing the Curia as the institution that preserves “the historical memory of the church,” Pope Leo called on these Vatican employees to “work together” with him “in the great cause of unity and love.”
Gerard O’ConnellMay 24, 2025
Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist who helped expose the abuse committed by leaders of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, gives Pope Leo XIV a stole made of alpaca wool, during the pope's meeting with members of the media May 12, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo offered a heartening message for a global media that has endured a pretty awful year.
Kevin ClarkeMay 23, 2025
If you think our enthusiasm for our basketball team was intense, just wait until you see our support for Pope Leo XIV.
Jack DoolinMay 23, 2025
“I don’t think he’s the kind of man who sends coded messages,” Cardinal Michael Czerny says in this exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell.
Gerard O’ConnellMay 23, 2025