Human rights - a vanishing breed?

I was so saddened to learn this morning that the two journalists were sentenced to 12 years' hard labor in North Korea.
I am holding on to the belief that they will still be released and NK is using this to their advantage right now.
But the fact remains that they were sentenced and have been held all this time.
It boggles the mind that this still goes on in this day and age when simple human kindness seems to be non-existent.
Our country is reporting all the sadness and outrage at this event. I sympathize. But then I think of Gitmo and all the stories that are coming out of there. And some past leaders trying to justify the use of torture. Are we any better? How can we criticize unless we clean up our own backyard?