CAT/C/USA/CO/3-5 Miller v. Alabama ruling does not apply retroactively and that the majority of the 28 states that allow mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for children have not passed legislation to comply with the ruling. Moreover, the rulings leave open the possibility for judges to impose life-without-parole sentences in homicide cases, even where the child played a minimal role in the crime, and courts continue to impose the sentence (arts. 11 and 16). The State party should abolish the sentence of life imprisonment without parole for offences committed by children under 18 years of age, irrespective of the crime committed, and enable child offenders currently serving life without parole to have their cases reviewed by a court for reassessment and resentencing, to restore parole eligibility and for a possible reduction of the sentence. Death penalty 25. While welcoming the fact that six states abolished capital punishment during the period under review, the Committee expresses concern at the State party’s admission that it is not currently considering abolishing the death penalty at the federal level. The Committee also expresses concern at reported cases of excruciating pain and prolonged suffering that procedural irregularities have caused condemned prisoners in the course of their execution. The Committee is specially troubled by the recent cases of botched executions in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Ohio. The Committee is equally concerned at the continued delays in recourse procedures, which keep prisoners sentenced to death in a situation of anguish and incertitude for many years. The Committee notes that, in certain cases, such situation amounts to torture insofar as it corresponds to one of the forms of torture (i.e., the threat of imminent death) contained in the interpretative understanding made by the State party at the time of ratification of the Convention (arts. 1, 2 and 16). The State party should review its execution methods in order to prevent pain and prolonged suffering. The Committee recalls that the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty 4 stipulates that, where capital punishment occurs, it shall be carried out so as to inflict the minimum possible suffering (para. 9). The State party should reduce the procedural delays that keep prisoners sentenced to capital punishment in death row for prolonged periods. The State party is encouraged to establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty. It is also encouraged to commute the sentences of individuals currently on death row and to accede to the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. Excessive use of force and police brutality 26. The Committee is concerned about the numerous reports of police brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, in particular against persons belonging to certain racial and ethnic groups, immigrants and LGBTI individuals. It is also concerned about racial profiling by police and immigration offices and the growing militarization of policing activities. The Committee is particularly concerned at the reported current police violence in Chicago, especially against African-American and Latino young people, who are allegedly consistently profiled, harassed and subjected to excessive force by Chicago Police Department officers. It also expresses deep concern at the frequent and recurrent 4 Approved by Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 1984. 13