By Jesse Russell

Amnesty International and Humans Rights Watch have accused the United States of being the only country that severely punishes juveniles on a regular basis. According to the organizations 2,225 child offenders are in prison for life in 42 American states. Worldwide, only one dozen other cases were found in three countries - Israel, South Africa and Tanzania. One-sixth of those that committed their offense were under 16, nearly sixty percent were given a life sentence for their first offense. In a quarter of he cases the offenders were found guilty of being present at the scene of a murder, but not actually committing the murder.