Amnesty International has launched a two-year campaign to ban the execution of child offenders worldwide. In a report entitled "Time to end a shameful practice", it says that those who commit crimes below the age of 18 have the capacity for rehabilitation. "International developments... make us believe that our aim is within reach," the organisation said. The US is one of eight countries Amnesty says has executed child criminals since 1990. According to Amnesty’s report, the US is the only country in the world which openly acknowledges executing child offenders. "The USA promotes itself as a global human rights champion yet it accounts for 13 of the 19 known executions of child offenders reported since 1998," it said. Other countries which have executed child offenders since 1990 include China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the organisation says. Amnesty says child offenders remain under threat of execution in the Philippines and Sudan, as well as in the US.
So as we unearth the bodies in Iraq, AI calls for the rehabilitation of Lee Malvo. Kim doesn’t make the list either because he doesn’t announce when he executes a child. If we can the publicity for child executions, can we get the same treatment from AI? How about a little love. |