Saturday, August 22, 2009

Prisoners' Rights: The ACLU's National Prison Project


Prisoners' Rights: The ACLU's National Prison Project

Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself

ACLU Forces Sweeping Improvements At Baltimore Jail
The agreement with Maryland state officials should bring improvements to the quality of medical and mental health care provided to detainees at the Baltimore City Jail and effectively settles major portions of a longstanding class-action lawsuit. More >>

DHS Announces 11 Previously Unreported Deaths in Immigration Detention
Prompted by an ACLU lawsuit seeking previously unreleased documents related to the deaths of immigration detainees in U.S. custody, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials revealed 11 deaths that have occurred at detention facilities since 2004 that the government had previously failed to publicly disclose. The government has now admitted to a total of 104 in-custody deaths since fiscal year 2003. More >>

Alabama Department of Corrections Ends Ban of Prisoners With HIV From Work Release
Advocates have long argued that the ban was an arbitrary and discriminatory denial to participation in a program essential for aiding prisoners' successful reintegration into society. More >>

ACLU Seeks End to Censorship Of Religious Material by Virginia Jail
The ACLU and the ACLU of Virginia are demanding officials at the Rappahannock Regional Jail immediately end their illegal practice of censoring religious material sent to detainees. More >>

Fighting Violence and Rape in Prison
For over a decade, the ACLU has fought for more humane prisons and against laws that make it harder for prisoners to challenge inhumane treatment.
MORE
> NEWS: Commission Finds Federal Law Denies Prison Rape Victims Access To Courts
> BLOG: Prison Rape Victims Deserve Ways to Seek Justice and Accountability (Daily Kos, 6/25/2009)
> OP-ED: Combating Rape in Prison (Washington Post, 6/19/2009)
> FEATURE: SAVE Coalition

Secret Creation of Isolated Housing Units in Federal Prisons Violates the Law
The ACLU and the ACLU of Indiana today filed a legal complaint challenging the unprecedented and secret creation of housing units inside federal prisons in which prisoners are condemned to live in stark isolation from the outside world. More >>

Sanctions Needed Against Virgin Islands Officials for Failing to Improve Jail Conditions
For more than 13 years, officials have ignored orders to make specific improvements in virtually every aspect of operations and conditions at the CJC and the CJC Annex. The Virgin Islands government has been held in contempt four times during that time and is currently operating under two separate contempt sanctions. More >>

ACLU Wins Judicial Order Requiring Proper Administration Of Medicine At Wisconsin Women's Prison
A federal judge has ordered correctional officials to take immediate steps toward fixing the error-prone system of ordering and administering medication to prisoners at the state's largest women's prison. More >>
> Motion For Preliminary Injunction
> ACLU of Wisconsin

ACLU Releases Expert's Report on Nightmarish Conditions at Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles
The American Civil Liberties Union today released an expert's report documenting how brutally overcrowded conditions cause or contribute to violence and serious mental illness in Los Angeles County's aging Men's Central Jail, and demanded that county officials swiftly implement changes to prevent unnecessary deaths or serious injuries. More >>
> Read Dr. Terry Kupers' Report on Mental Health Issues at Los Angeles County Jail

Blog: The Dirty Little Secret of Deaths in Detention
The New York Times' revelation of a Pakistani New Yorker's 2005 death in detention is the direct result of documents the ACLU obtained from ICE and other Homeland Security entities. More >>
> NYT: Immigrant Detainee Dies, and a Life Is Buried, Too (off-site)

ACLU Says Bureau of Prisons Again Attempting to Illegally Ban Religious Material
The ACLU has filed formal comments opposing a proposed rule by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) that would illegally empower prison officials to ban vital religious works from prison chapel libraries, despite a law passed last year prohibiting them from doing so. The proposed rule would allow material to be banned based on a mere determination that it "could...suggest" violence or criminal behavior. More >>


> ACLU's Comments On BOP's Proposed Rule

TOOLS
> Voting in Jail: An Advocate's Tool Kit
> Know Your Rights: Going to Prison


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