American Civil Liberties Union

Prisoners' Rights:
The ACLU's National Prison Project is the only national litigation program on behalf of prisoners. Since 1972, the NPP has represented more than 100,000 men, women and children. The NPP continues to fight unconstitutional conditions and the "lock 'em up" mentality that prevails in the legislatures. Learn more about our project and take action to protect the rights guaranteed to all Americans.


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Prisoner Rights : Press Releases

ACLU of West Virginia Calls for Fundamental Fairness in Implementing State Prisons' 'Good Behavior' Policy (04/09/2003)
CHARLESTON, WV--The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia today argued before the state Supreme Court that prison officials here violated the due process rights of an inmate when they denied him the possibility of earning "good time" credit that could reduce his sentence.

ACLU Applauds Alabama Governor for Prison Reform Efforts and Suggests Ways to Further Positive Steps (04/09/2003)
WASHINGTON-The American Civil Liberties Union today commends the actions of Alabama Governor Bob Riley and state legislators who moved to address the crisis in the state's prison system by approving an emergency appropriations bill for the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Private Prisoner Transport Company Pays Damages in Lawsuit Over Sexual Assault and Death Threats Against Woman (03/14/2003)
DENVER-- A woman who was sexually assaulted and threatened with death by a guard during a four-day prisoner transport accepted a settlement in which the guard and the private prisoner transport company that employed him agreed to pay money damages, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today.

Money Can Be Saved on Prisons Without Diminishing Public Safety, ACLU of Texas Tells Lawmakers (02/25/2003)
AUSTIN, TX--In testimony today before the Texas House Corrections Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said that the state's prisons have become too expensive because the system incarcerates too many non-violent offenders who should be home supporting their families.

Congress Asked to Investigate Health Crisis in Prisons by Coalition of Civil Rights Organizations, Medical Practitioners, and Corrections Officials (01/27/2003)
WASHINGTON-Releasing sick prisoners into the community without proper treatment or opportunities to continue treatment presents a major threat to public health and demonstrates why Congress must investigate the medical care crisis in the country's correctional systems, a coalition including the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

ACLU Lawsuit Bolsters Federal Study Findings on Inmate Medical Treatment, Highlights Public Health Risk in Sub-Standard Care (01/27/2003)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today pointed to a Michigan class action lawsuit as proof positive of the need for improved prisoner health care in America, a need highlighted by a new federal study released this morning in San Antonio.

Prison Officials' Failure to Contain Hepatitis C Brings Epidemic Outside Prison Walls, MI ACLU Charges (01/21/2003)
DETROIT - In a class-action lawsuit that may impact thousands, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today charged state prison officials with allowing an infectious disease to reach epidemic proportions by failing to adequately test and treat inmates with the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). The class action lawsuit was filed today in federal district court.

Judge Blocks Arizona Law that Censored Anti-Death Penalty Web Sites (12/16/2002)
PHOENIX - Citing fears of "irreparable harm" to the First Amendment, a federal judge today halted enforcement of an Arizona law that bars all information about state prisoners from the global Internet and bans communication between prisoners and organizations that may publish information about them on their web sites.

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