Blog of Rights
Alisa
Roth
As the ACLU's Story Finder, Alisa Roth finds and tells stories of people to bring to life the issues behind our litigation and advocacy work. Before coming to the ACLU, Alisa told stories on public radio, most recently for the program Marketplace. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, the New York Review of Books, and other publications. She was a Fulbright Scholar in 2000, and a fellow of the International Reporting Project in 2008. She is a graduate of Haverford College.
05/25/2012
Solitary Confinement

Solitary Confinement: “More broken than when they went in”

By Alisa Roth, ACLU at 10:54am

Joe Giarratano is hardly a typical prisoner: he’s been involved in two Supreme Court cases; he’s been published in the Yale Law Journal; and he’s taught a class on non-violence, all while locked up in some of the toughest prisons in the country.

But like tens of thousands of others, Giarratano has also spent time in solitary confinement.

Giarratano shared his story in a letter, which you can read here. This is how he described his first stint in “The Box,” in 1996:

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03/06/2012
Voter Suppression

Take Your Souls to the Polls: Voting Early in Ohio

By Alisa Roth, ACLU at 6:22pm

It's Super Tuesday. Many Ohioans voted early, but early voting could be restricted if a bill pending in the legislature passes and cuts the early voting period by more than half.

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01/31/2012

Some Observations on Voter Registration in Florida

By Alisa Roth, ACLU at 4:22pm

Terrifying is not a word I’d use to describe myself. I don’t even think it’s a word most other people would use to describe me. But I guess it all depends on your perspective.

I was in East Tampa, Florida a few weeks before the primary, to assess the state’s new election laws, which add prohibitively onerous requirements to anyone who wants to register voters there. I was looking for people who register voters, and the people they sign up, to try to understand how the legislation will affect things on the ground.

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