A new report says massive incarceration rates in the United States are being fueled by harsh sentencing practices that run contrary to international law. In their latest World Report, Human Rights Watch found U.S. prisons house an increasing number of elderly people whose needs they are not equipped to handle, as well as more than 95,000 youth under the age of 18 who are being held in adult facilities. Hundreds of children are reportedly being kept in solitary confinement. People of color continue to be incarcerated at hugely disproportionate rates. African Americans represent only 13 percent of the U.S. population but account for more than 28 percent of all arrests. The United States leads the world in incarceration, maintaining both the largest incarcerated population — 1.6 million people — and the world’s highest per capita incarceration rate.