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Prison Litigation Reform Act Must be Fixed, Law denies justice to victims (04/22/2008)
Washington, DC – The House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security is scheduled to examine reform of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which was originally passed by Congress in 1996 as a way to stem the tide against what were thought to be frivolous lawsuits by prisoners. Since that time, the law has been used repeatedly to deny justice to victims of rape, assault, religious rights violations and other serious abuses.

Prison Litigation Reform Act Must be Fixed, Law denies justice to victims (04/22/2008)
Washington, DC – The House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security is scheduled to examine reform of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which was originally passed by Congress in 1996 as a way to stem the tide against what were thought to be frivolous lawsuits by prisoners. Since that time, the law has been used repeatedly to deny justice to victims of rape, assault, religious rights violations and other serious abuses.

ACLU of New Mexico Sues Jail for Rape of Inmate (01/24/2008)
ALBUQUERQUE — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed a lawsuit today against the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) for failing to protect inmate Roman Gallardo from physical and sexual assault by another prisoner while Gallardo was incarcerated for a DWI offense in 2006. The rape took place after Gallardo, an openly gay man, was forced to share a cell with an inmate who was known to have sexually assaulted at least one other prisoner.

ACLU Calls Passage of Deaths in Custody Bill a Step in the Right Direction (01/23/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today supported a bill passed by the House that compels officials to report deaths of prisoners and immigration detainees in local and state custody. The Deaths in Custody Reporting Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), demands accountability and transparency from state and local agencies, where most immigration detainees are held, when people die in custody. The bill does not, however, apply to deaths in federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.

ACLU Testimony to Virgin Islands Legislature Urges Overhaul of Prison System (01/16/2008)
ST. THOMAS, VI – An American Civil Liberties Union lawyer advocated Wednesday that lawmakers in the Virgin Islands adopt a bill that would establish the Bureau of Corrections as its own governmental agency headed by a cabinet-level director appointed by the governor. In testimony given before the Virgin Islands Legislature’s Committee on Public Safety, Homeland Security and Justice, Eric Balaban, senior staff counsel for the ACLU’s National Prison Project, said the bill would create greater accountability for prison officials and go a long way toward improving what he described as the “unconstitutional and dangerous conditions” at the Virgin Islands Criminal Justice Complex (CJC).

Prisoners' Assistance Directory (2008) (01/01/2008)
Guide to organizations in each state that work on prisoners' rights issues.

ACLU National Prison Project Publication List (07/05/2007)

Out of Step With the World (05/25/2006)
First comprehensive international and comparative analysis of felony disfranchisement policies, examining other western democracies' policies, practices and legal precedents.

Prisoner's Rights - ACLU Position Paper (09/10/1999)

Expert Report on Unit 32 Classification - Dr. James Austin (November 2007) (11/15/2007)

Expert Report on Use of Force in Unit 32 - Mr. Kenneth McGinnis (October 2007) (11/15/2007)

Presley v. Epps - Supplemental Consent Decree on Mental Health Care, Use of Force and Classification (11/13/2007)

Commissioner Lantz of the Connecticut Deparment of Corrections Letter to the ACLU of CT (11/08/2006)
Commissioner Lantz of the Connecticut Deparment of Corrections Letter to the ACLU of CT

ACLU of Connecticut's letter to Commissioner Lantz of the CT Department of Corrections (10/30/2006)
ACLU of Connecticut's letter to Commissioner Lantz of the CT Department of Corrections

ACLU Testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security (06/26/2008)
Good afternoon. My name is Tom Jawetz and I am the immigration detention staff attorney for the National Prison Project (NPP) of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU). The ACLU is a non-partisan organization with hundreds of thousands of members and 53 affiliates nationwide. For more than 80 years, the ACLU has fought to defend the Constitution and our precious civil liberties against assault. One of our most important tools is the Freedom of Information Act, which allows members of the public to obtain vitally important information about government activity. But in a world where privatization of core governmental functions—including the management of our prisons and jails—is on the rise, more and more information is being shielded from public disclosure.

ACLU Letter to House Judiciary Subcommittee Leadership Urging Support of H.R. 1889, the Private Prison Information Act of 2007 (06/25/2008)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-partisan organization with hundreds of thousands of activists and members and 53 affiliates nationwide, we write to support H.R.1889, the Private Prison Information Act of 2007 and urge the members of the Subcommittee to support its passage. This much needed legislation would require private entities operating prisons that detain and incarcerate federal prisoners to release information about the operation of the prisons in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as any federal agency operating a facility is required to do.

ACLU Letter Supporting H.R. 261 (12/06/2007)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and its 53 affiliates, we write in support of H.R. 261, the Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2007. This legislation provides for the early release of non-violent offenders over the age of 45 who have not been convicted of a violent crime, have not attempted to escape from incarceration and have not violated prison disciplinary rules.

ACLU Letter in Support of H.R. 1889, the Private Prison Information Act of 2007 (11/09/2007)

Testimony of Francisco Castaneda for the House Immigration Subcommittee Hearing Detention and Removal: Immigration Detainee Medical Care (10/04/2007)

2007 - 2008 National Prison Project Litigation Docket (05/13/2008)
Summarizes developments in the National Prison Project's cases during 2007 and 2008.

2006 – 2007 Updated National Prison Project Litigation Docket (10/18/2007)

2006 – 2007 National Prison Project Litigation Docket (05/21/2007)
Summarizes developments in the National Prison Project's cases during 2006 and 2007.

Custody and Control: A Former Inmate's Account of Abuse in Juvenile Justice (09/29/2006)
"Custody and Control" reports that "delinquent" young girls from backgrounds of intergenerational poverty. Juanita Crawford, 19, spent a year and a half at Lansing Correctional Facility.

Surprising Shift: New ACLU Poll Finds Public Dissatisfied with Lock-Em-Up Approach (02/25/2002)
WASHINGTON - A new poll commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union released today reveals a strong dissatisfaction with the current state of the criminal justice system in America and a growing public confidence in rehabilitation and alternative punishments for non-violent offenders.

Know Your Rights: Restrictions on Visitation (06/02/2006)

Know Your Rights: Legal Rights of Disabled Prisoners (06/02/2006)

Know Your Rights: Freedom of Religion (06/02/2006)

Summary of Testimonials From Inmates Incarcerated at Orleans Parish Prison During Hurricane Katrina (11/18/2005)
Summary of Testimonials from Inmates Incarcerated at New Orleans Old Parish Prison during Hurricane Katrina

Testimonials of Six Inmates Incarcerated at New Orleans Old Parish Prison during Hurricane Katrina (11/18/2005)
Testimonials of Six Inmates Incarcerated at New Orleans Old Parish Prison during Hurricane Katrina

Jones v. Bock and Williams v. Overton (09/19/2006)
Challenge to a set of judicially-created rules that seriously impair a prisoner's ability to bring grievances to federal court. DECIDED

Beard v. Banks (03/16/2006)
Reviewing whether maximum security prisoners in long-term segregation can be denied access to all non-religious newspapers and magazines. DECIDED

Jay V. Johnson v. California (02/18/2005)
Reviewing the procedure by which a defendant can establish that the prosecution improperly used its peremptory jury challenges in a racially discriminatory fashion. DECIDED

Cutter v. Wilkinson (12/30/2004)
Reviewing the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law designed in part to protect the free exercise rights of prisoners and other institutionalized persons. DECIDED

Garrison S. Johnson v. California (09/08/2004)
Reviewing whether California's policy of racially segregating all new prisoners should be subject to strict judicial scrutiny. DECIDED