Whereas approximately 2,500 individuals in the United States have been sentenced to die in prison for crimes committed as children; Whereas the United States is the only country in the world that imposes life without the possibility of release or parole sentences on children; Whereas the United States is the only United Nations member state that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child which prohibits the use of the death penalty and life without the possibility of release sentences from being imposed on children under 18 years of age; Whereas a life without the possibility of release or parole sentence is a final judgment that disregards children’s unique capacity to grow and change as they mature into adulthood; Whereas studies have shown that children’s brains are not fully developed and as a result, children are less capable than adults to consider the long-term impact of their actions, control their emotions and impulses, or evaluate risks and reward; Whereas fundamental differences between juvenile and adult brains make children uniquely capable of long-term growth, rehabilitation, and change as their brains mature over time; Whereas the vast majority of children who commit crimes age out of criminal behavior and no longer pose a threat to society in adulthood; Whereas the United States recognizes that children are different from adults by the limitations society places upon them; Whereas children are not allowed to enter into contracts, purchase or consume tobacco and alcohol, vote, serve in the military, or engage in other adult activities; Whereas the only area where the United States does not treat children different from adults is in criminal sentencing laws; Whereas children sentenced to life without the possibility of release or parole are most frequently the most vulnerable members of society; Whereas studies show that nearly 80 percent of juvenile lifers reported witnessing violence in their homes and more than half (54.1 percent) witnessed weekly violence in their neighborhoods