Petition to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights challenges “death by incarceration” and calls for a meaningful path to release
Philadelphia, PA — August 19, 2026 — Yesterday, Professor Rachel López and law students at Temple University Beasley School of Law filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on behalf of Charles “Shug” Slaughter, a 73-year-old man with prostate cancer and a heart condition who has spent five decades incarcerated in a Pennsylvania state prison serving a sentence of life without parole (LWOP).
The petition argues that Charles’s continued incarceration amounts to “death by incarceration” and violates his human rights under the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, including his rights to life, humane treatment, and freedom from cruel, infamous, or unusual punishment.
The petition challenges the human rights implications of “death by incarceration,” including the lack of any meaningful, reviewable path to release for people serving LWOP in Pennsylvania. It thus asks the IACHR to find the United States responsible for violating Charles’s human rights and recommend his release.