ACLU

inside of a cell at the youth detention unit at Angola prison.

Louisiana Fights to Keep Kids at Angola After Judge’s Removal Order

The state argues there would be a “near certainty” of “serious bodily injury” to children, staff, and the public if kids are transferred out of the prison.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 12, 2023

LASD Says It Wants to Keep Hitting People in the Head

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has taken legal action against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to stop deputies from hitting incarcerated people in the head so often. Yesterday, LASD said it should not be forced to change.

Meg O'Connor Jun 27, 2023

‘The Darkest Part of the Tunnel’

Youth in solitary confinement wrote letters to save their lives. One lawyer responded.

Nell Bernstein, The Imprint Jun 06, 2023

Louisiana Imprisons Children in a Former Death Row Unit. The Kids Say it Haunts Them.

Last year, the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice began transferring children to Angola, the state’s most notorious prison. Since then, kids say they’ve suffered through horrific conditions and routine mistreatment.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 13, 2023

Detainees are packed into a room at Los Angeles County's Inmate Reception Center.

L.A. County’s Jail Booking Center Has Become a ‘Living Hell,’ Detainees Say in Court Filing

County officials agree that conditions have deteriorated at L.A.’s Inmate Reception Center. But they’re resisting calls for substantive change.

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Sep 13, 2022

When Prisons Locked Down, Prisoners Were Denied Release

Leaving prison often hinges on completing rehabilitative programming. The pandemic caused many of these required courses to be put on hold.

Daniel Moritz-Rabson Jun 29, 2021

The Pandemic Spurred Governors to Grant Clemency, But Advocates Say It Isn’t Enough

Despite sentencing reforms, hundreds of thousands of people who have been incarcerated over the last several decades are ineligible for parole.

Rachel M. Cohen May 24, 2021

Report Sheds Light On The Pattern Of Over-Policing That Led Cops To Pull Over Daunte Wright

The criminal legal system “relies heavily on collecting money from the very people targeted by the system,” in the process incentivizing police to punish as many people as possible, the authors of the ACLU report write.

Samantha Schuyler Apr 21, 2021

Years After Freddie Gray’s Death, Baltimore Police Misconduct Persists

A new report de-anonymizes hundreds of officers in the city and shows more than 1,800 cops have had complaints filed about them.

Brandon Soderberg Jan 19, 2021

Prisoners Face ‘Undue Punishment’ As The IRS Claws Back Their Stimulus Checks

Legal experts say the IRS is illegally denying CARES Act payments to incarcerated people.

Jordan Michael Smith Jul 08, 2020

After 17 Years, Bureau Of Prisons Set To Resume Federal Executions

A civil rights advocate calls the scheduled executions of four men ‘appalling’ and a return to a ‘biased, arbitrary, and error-prone’ system.

Lauren Gill Jun 16, 2020

Oakland County Jail Ordered To Identify Prisoners Who Should Be Released To Protect Them From COVID-19

A U.S. district court judge said the Michigan jail has demonstrated ‘deliberate indifference’ to the lives of ‘medically vulnerable’ prisoners who are at particular risk of the novel coronavirus.

Dawn R. Wolfe May 21, 2020

Photoillustration of a person sitting in a prison

Lawsuit Seeks The Release Of ‘Medically Vulnerable’ People Held At Oakland County Jail In Michigan

A district court judge who issued a temporary restraining order in the case said jail officials had not ‘imposed even the most basic safety measures recommended by health experts.’

Dawn R. Wolfe May 15, 2020

Prisoners Who Test Positive For COVID-19 In Connecticut Are Sent To A Notorious Maximum Security Prison

Faculty members of the Yale School of Public Health, the Yale School of Medicine, and the Yale School of Nursing wrote to the governor that sending patients there is “inhumane and ineffective.”

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 08, 2020

Massachusetts Prosecutors Should Use Their Power To Dismiss Cases Now

District attorneys in the state could decarcerate quickly by dropping unnecessary cases.

Will Isenberg Apr 08, 2020

In California, Coronavirus Threatens Due Process

Delaying trials will mean more people stay in jail while a life-threatening disease spreads throughout the state.

Kyle C. Barry Apr 01, 2020

‘What Will It Take For You To Call This A Homicide?’

In California, a Vallejo detective and a Solano County prosecutor concealed exculpatory evidence from a man facing murder charges. They went on to face accusations of misconduct in other high-profile cases.

Darwin BondGraham, Brian Krans Mar 11, 2020

Decades-old Protections For Protesters Are In Jeopardy

After protests over the police shooting of Alton Sterling, DeRay Mckesson, the Black Lives Matter activist, was sued by a police officer.

Vaidya Gullapalli Dec 11, 2019

Tech Company Gave Two New Orleans-Area Sheriff’s Offices Access to Track Cell Phones Without Warrants

Neither agency had written policies on how to capture or store the location data without violating privacy rights.

Emily Lane Oct 23, 2019

Missouri Executes Russell Bucklew Despite Threat of Botched Execution

His legal team had pushed for clemency, arguing that Bucklew’s previous attorneys mishandled his capital murder case.

Lauren Gill Oct 02, 2019

Missouri Is Set To Execute Russell Bucklew. His Lawyers Say His Case Was Mishandled.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his execution, which experts have said will be bloody and gruesome, does not amount to cruel and unusual punishment. But problems with his case started long before that, his attorneys say.

Lauren Gill Sep 20, 2019

A migrant father from Guatemala, who chose not to be identified, demonstrates the ankle monitor he is required by ICE to wear 24 hours a day

In One Arizona County, Pay For Your Ankle Monitor Or Go To Jail

A lawsuit is challenging Mohave County’s practice of charging certain people for mandatory GPS monitoring before trial.

Kira Lerner Aug 23, 2019

Police Respond To Accountability By Threatening A Slowdown

Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. Yesterday seemed by all accounts a good day for police accountability. Scholars recently revealed that police violence is a leading cause of death for Black men, but […]

Sarah Lustbader Aug 20, 2019

Sentenced to Life Without Parole at 17 and Denied Freedom at 52

Richard Kinder thought he would die in an Alabama prison until the Supreme Court ruled mandatory juvenile life without parole unconstitutional. But last year, despite a judge concluding there was “uncontradicted evidence” that Kinder had worked to rehabilitate himself, the state parole board refused him release.

Lauren Gill Aug 07, 2019