USA:Organization wants to stop juvenile executions

Foes of the death penalty are launching a new campaign aimed at ending juvenile executions in the U-S.

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty says the United States is out of step with the rest of the civilized world. It says only one other country allows juveniles to be put to death.

 The organization says it will focus its campaign on state legislatures in the 22 states that still allow people who commit crimes before they turn 18 to be sentenced to death.

According to the NCADP, geography and race play a fundamental role in the application of the juvenile death penalty. The group says since executions resumed in 1976, 2/3 of the 21 juvenile executions took place in Texas. And the NCADP says approximately 2/3 of all juvenile offenders on death row are persons of color.