UN Special Rapporteur on Racism End of Visit Statement

In November 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism visited the United States and met with us in California and Louisiana. At the end of the visit, she issued a statement acknowledging the issue the death by incarceration:

“I am deeply concerned about reports of:

Legislation that allows for life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) and other “death by incarceration” (DBI) sentences, including for non-violent offences; offences, such as felony murder, where the accused was not directly involved in the commission of a violent crime; and cases in which women’s offending behavior took place in a context of domestic violence and abuse.

The disproportionate use of “death by incarceration sentences” amongst Black and Latino individuals. Without the chance of parole, the rehabilitative function of the prison system is negated, reducing it to a tool of segregation and exploitation.”