Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we’ve spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.
By Kara Dansky, Senior Counsel, ACLU Center for Justice at 11:19am
President Obama is the first sitting president in recent history to speak out against criminal justice policies that hurt inner city and rural communities. This is a big deal.
Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we’ve spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.
By Ian Kysel, Aryeh Neier Fellow, ACLU Human Rights Program at 11:17am
Good news for kids in California who are locked in isolation in juvenile facilities: the state could effectively end the solitary confinement of youth in juvenile facilities this year. This desperately needed development comes care of Senator – and psychologist – Leland Yee of California, who introduced Senate Bill (SB) 61 last week. If passed, SB 61 would limit the use of solitary confinement of juveniles.
Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we’ve spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.
The ACLU told the U.S. Supreme Court today that warrantless blood tests of drunken driving suspects should not be allowed, especially when a search warrant could be obtained in a timely fashion.
The ACLU represents Tyler McNeely, the respondent in the case, Missouri v. McNeely. He was pulled over in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in 2010 on suspicion of drunk driving. After refusing a field sobriety test, he was taken to a local hospital where blood was forcibly drawn to obtain a sample to test his blood-alcohol content. The arresting officer did not obtain a warrant prior to the blood draw. Two Missouri courts later ruled the blood evidence could not be used against McNeely.
Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we’ve spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.
By Amy Fettig, ACLU National Prison Project at 11:00am
Here’s to starting the New Year right. The notorious Tamms Correctional Center in Illinois, with its practice of housing human beings alone in cells for 22-24 hours per day with little or no human interaction or outside stimulus, officially shut its doors today.
