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ACLU Urges New Orleans City Council to Review Conditions at Prison (12/08/2005)
In response to reports that hundreds of prisoners have returned to Orleans Parish Prison, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana today urged the City Council to conduct a full and thorough review of the conditions within the facility. In letters to each council member, the ACLU expressed concern that Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman re-opened the prison despite the lack of adequate evacuation plans or medical staff and equipment.

Texas Jury Rejects Prison Rape Case (10/18/2005)
WICHITA FALLS, TX -- A jury today rejected a civil lawsuit brought by Roderick Keith Johnson, a gay former Texas prisoner who was repeatedly raped and sold as a sex slave by prison gangs. The lawsuit sought damages from six prison officials for ignoring Johnson's pleas for help and refusing to protect him from repeated sexual assault.

ACLU Presents Closing Statement in Texas Prison Sex Slave Trial (10/17/2005)
WICHITA FALLS, TX- The American Civil Liberties Union presented closing argument today at the civil trial of six prison officials who refused to protect Roderick Keith Johnson, a gay former Texas prisoner who was repeatedly raped and sold as a sex slave by prison gangs.

ACLU and Local Attorneys File Lawsuit Over Quadriplegic Left To Die At DC Jail (09/20/2005)
WASHINGTON -- The mother of a quadriplegic man who died while serving a 10-day jail sentence filed a lawsuit today against District of Columbia officials and Greater Southeast Community Hospital over the deficient care that led to her son's death. Mary Scott, mother of Jonathan Magbie, joined the American Civil Liberties Union and local attorneys at a press conference on the courthouse steps this morning to announce the lawsuit.

ACLU Sues Major Medical Provider Over Deficient Care in Mississippi Prison (06/22/2005)
WASHINGTON, DC -- Citing the extreme health risks faced by nearly 1000 men confined in a Mississippi prison, the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Holland & Knight LLP today filed a lawsuit against one of the country's largest for-profit medical providers for prisoners.

ACLU and PJC Urge Maryland Board to Reject Contract with Company Known for Providing Deficient Medical Care in Prisons (06/01/2005)
ANNAPOLIS, MD -- Citing Correctional Medical Services' poor record for dispensing medical care to prisoners, the American Civil Liberties Union and Public Justice Center today urged Maryland's Board of Public Works to reject a proposed contract with the for-profit company.

ACLU Asks Court to Grant Class Action Status in Saginaw County Jail For Abuse of Detainees (05/02/2005)
DETROIT -- Although the Saginaw County sheriff claims that a policy of stripping and holding pre-trial detainees naked in a segregated cell has ended, there is now evidence that this long-standing practice may still exist, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said in legal papers filed late Friday requesting class action status for its lawsuit over the matter.

ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights Argue Prison Rights Case Before U.S. Supreme Court (03/30/2005)
""This case presents the same issue as the Guantanamo cases decided last spring,"" said Staughton Lynd, an ACLU of Ohio volunteer attorney and trial counsel in Austin. ""What due process is required before indefinite solitary confinement can be imposed on any human being?""

ACLU Joins Lawsuits Charging That Michigan Jail Illegally Forced Inmates to Strip (03/28/2005)
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today that it will join in three lawsuits that have been filed against the Saginaw County Jail for allowing egregious and unconstitutional treatment of detainees. All three cases challenge policies that allow prison personnel to strip inmates, and two of the cases charge that detainees were stripped and held naked in a cell referred to as "the hole."

ACLU Applauds Supreme Court Decision Protecting Prisoners from Racial Discrimination (02/23/2005)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today hailed a Supreme Court decision rejecting the use of racial segregation as a routine method of prison administration. The Court first held that racially segregated prisons were unconstitutional in a 1968 case brought by the ACLU.

Pennsylvania Jail Requires Religion With Rehabilitation, ACLU Charges (02/17/2005)
TOWANDA, PA-- The only vocational training program available at a Pennsylvania county jail forces prisoners to participate in religious discussions, religious lectures and prayer, the American Civil Liberties Union charged today in a complaint filed in federal court.

Man Raped by Prison Guard Receives Money Damages in ACLU Lawsuit (12/02/2004)
WASHINGTON- A 25-year-old Texas prisoner, who was repeatedly raped by a prison guard with a history of sexual assault, accepted a settlement in which his rapist and the assistant warden who failed to protect him agreed to pay substantial money damages, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today.

ACLU Settles Lawsuit Challenging Censorship Policies in Colorado Prisons (11/30/2004)
DENVER--The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado announced today that it has settled its lawsuit challenging the state's broad censorship of books, newspapers, magazines, and political commentary available to prisoners.

Legal Aid Society and ACLU Charge Milwaukee County With 13,000 Violations of Court Order to Run Jail Safely and Humanely (09/14/2004)
MILWAUKEE, WI - The Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee and the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin today announced that they are seeking a contempt order against the Milwaukee County and the Sheriff's Department for holding people for days at a time in crowded, degrading and dangerous conditions in the county jail's booking room, in violation of a court-ordered settlement agreement.

In Legal First, Appeals Court Says Texas Prison Officials Can Be Sued for Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation (09/09/2004)
WASHINGTON, DC- In a legal first, a unanimous federal appeals court has ruled that seven ranking Texas prison officials can be sued for damages due to discrimination based on sexual orientation, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today. The ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals came in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of a gay man who was repeatedly raped by prison gangs and whose pleas for help were ignored by officials.

Louisiana Appeals Court Hears ACLU Arguments in Prison Sex Slave Case (07/07/2004)
NEW ORLEANS - In a lawsuit filed on behalf of a gay African-American man who was repeatedly raped by Texas prison gangs, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged a federal appeals court to uphold a district court ruling that denied prison officials qualified immunity for their failure to protect him.

ACLU Raises Concerns Over Psychiatric Services After Suicide at Orleans Parish Prison (06/08/2004)
NEW ORLEANS- At a hearing tomorrow before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alma L. Chasez, the American Civil Liberties Union will argue for reconsideration of the court's dismissal of mental health care issues from its oversight at the Orleans Parish Prison, following the apparent suicide of a 34-year-old man placed in four-point restraints.

U.S. Must End Torture of Prisoners in America As Well As in Iraq, ACLU Says (05/11/2004)
WASHINGTON- Like most Americans, I am horrified by the sexually degrading photographs and the reports of Iraqi detainees being threatened with electrocution and rape by members of our military at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. Those who are shocked by these human rights violations, however, should be aware that equally depraved acts are committed against prisoners in the United States regularly without the outrage and disgust currently being expressed by U.S. officials in response to conditions in Iraq.

Court Approves Settlement of ACLU Lawsuit to Improve Conditions at County Jail in Washington State (01/28/2004)
TACOMA, WA -- Judge Ronald Leighton of U.S. District Court has approved a settlement agreement between the American Civil Liberties Union and Jefferson County officials to improve conditions for inmates at the Jefferson County Jail in Port Hadlock on the Olympic Peninsula, the ACLU announced today.

Correctional Officers and Rights Advocates Agree; Employment for Prisoners Protects Public Safety (07/25/2003)
WASHINGTON, DC- A diverse coalition of correctional officers and prisoners' rights advocates today urged Congress to oppose legislation that would damage federal prison inmate labor programs. The bill, HR 1829, scheduled for mark up in the House Judiciary Committee today, would threaten public safety and impede federal prisoners' rehabilitation.