By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:19pm
Today we let federal lawmakers know that Arizona’s racial profiling law, S.B. 1070, is about much more than just the state of Arizona and its immigrants. It’s about how we see ourselves as a nation.
Skyrocketing corrections budgets have fixed state lawmakers' attention on the problem of mass incarceration, and smart reform — reducing prison populations and spending while keeping communities safe — is starting to happen. Nonetheless, some states have been slow to respond. In the early months of 2012, a number of states' chief justices told their legislators to wake up to the growing problem and suggested reforms that would be good for both budgets and public safety.
By Daniel Bullard-Bates, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 5:43pm
Yesterday, a federal court decision barred the City of South Bend, Indiana, from unconstitutionally donating land bought with taxpayer funds to a private religious school. The case was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Indiana, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
By Rebecca McCray, ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project at 1:28pm
Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Withover 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 Daniel Bullard-Bates, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at 6:01pm
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Indiana, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a lawsuit yesterday against the City of South Bend, Indiana. The city spent taxpayer money to buy a piece of land in South Bend they intend to sell to the Catholic Diocese that runs St. Joseph’s High School, a private religious school.
In the last decade, New York drastically reduced its prison population and at the same time experienced a huge drop in crime. Indiana, on the other hand, drastically increased its prison population — and consequently the burden to taxpayers — while seeing a much smaller drop in crime than the national average.
A new infographic out from the ACLU today shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, increasing a state’s prison population isn’t necessarily a good way to make that state safer.
