Home : Prisoners' Rights

ACLU Warns Arizona Officials on Law That Punishes Prisoners Whose Names Appear Online (06/11/2002)
PHOENIX, AZ--The American Civil Liberties Union today sent a letter to Arizona prison officials demanding suspension of a state law that bans prisoners from contacting groups or individuals who may post information about them online.

Settlement of ACLU of Ohio "Pregnant Prisoner" Case Brings New Protections for Women in Jail (06/04/2002)
CLEVELAND--Inmates seeking abortions will be provided more timely care under a settlement of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio that accused a judge of jailing a woman to prevent her from having an abortion, the ACLU announced today. 

ACLU of Arkansas Says Court Ruling Brings New Hope to Mentally Ill Jail Inmates Denied Treatment (05/07/2002)
LITTLE ROCK, AR--The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas won a significant victory for the mentally ill today when a federal judge ruled that the state violated the rights of mentally ill inmates by allowing them to languish in jails and denying them court-ordered evaluations and treatment. 

ACLU Welcomes Michigan Prisons' New Policy On Privileged Prisoner Mail (05/01/2002)
WASHINGTON-The American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project welcomes a new policy instituted today by the Michigan Department of Corrections that bans prison staff from reading or skimming privileged prisoner legal mail. 

Texas Officials Complicit in Gang Rape and Sexual Slavery of Gay Black Man, ACLU Charges (04/17/2002)
WASHINGTON--In a case that highlights prison systems' failure to protect vulnerable prisoners -- and the role bias plays in who gets protected -- the American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit against Texas prison officials who permitted a gay African American man to be repeatedly raped and sold as a sexual slave for $5.

ACLU Sues Private Prisoner Transport Company over Sexual Assault and Death Threats Against Woman (04/11/2002)
DENVER-- An employee of a private prisoner transport company sexually assaulted a woman during a four-day trip and threatened to shoot her if she reported him, the American Civil Liberties Union charged today in a lawsuit that highlights the disturbing trend of sexual abuse and harassment of women prisoners by correctional staff. 

After Eight Deaths in Colorado Jail, ACLU Files Lawsuit Over Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners (04/02/2002)
DENVER--Saying that the El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs has failed to protect and provide adequate resources for prisoners with serious mental health needs, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado today filed a federal class action lawsuit against prison officials. 

District Court Approves ACLU Settlement, Orders Improvements at Wisconsin's "Supermax" (03/08/2002)
MADISON, WI -- Remedying some of the country's most deplorable prison conditions, U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb today approved a settlement agreement between the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and prisoners incarcerated at the Supermax Correctional Institution in Boscobel, Wisconsin. 

Class-Action Lawsuit Challenges Failure of Illinois Officials to Provide Adequate Mental Health Treatment (02/27/2002)
CHICAGO--Claiming that the treatment needs of the emotionally disturbed are not being met, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of four individuals currently being held in Joliet Correctional Center under the state's Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. 

Federal Judge Says Ohio "Supermax" Prison Violates Constitutional Rights (02/26/2002)
CLEVELAND-- A federal district judge ruled today that brutal conditions at an Ohio Supermax prison "impose an atypical and significant hardship" on prisoners and that their placement in the facility has "great potential for error" in violation of their rights. 

ACLU of Washington Sues to Remedy Inhumane Conditions at County Jail (02/26/2002)
TACOMA, WA--The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington today filed a class-action lawsuit asking a federal court to order an immediate remedy to inhumane conditions at a local county jail, including lack of heat in winter, denial of medications as punishment, overflowing toilets and lack of basic hygiene products such as toilet paper.