American Civil Liberties Union

Founded in 1972 by the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Prison Project seeks to create constitutional conditions of confinement and strengthen prisoners' rights through class action litigation and public education. Our policy priorities include reducing prison overcrowding, improving prisoner medical care, eliminating violence and maltreatment in prisons and jails, and minimizing the reliance on incarceration as a criminal justice sanction. The Project also publishes a quarterly Journal, coordinates a nationwide network of litigators, conducts training and public education conferences, and provides expert advice and technical assistance to local community groups and lawyers throughout the country. The NPP is a tax exempt foundation funded project of the ACLU Foundation. 

Located in downtown Washington, DC, the National Prison Project is directed by Elizabeth Alexander. She leads five full-time staff attorneys, two information and public policy professionals, and a support staff in accomplishing the mission of the Project. The staff works with a network of private attorneys from all over the country and affiliate offices of the ACLU.

Why We Are Here

The population in American prisons and jails has tripled in the past 15 years with the predictable consequence that facilities are overcrowded; medical systems are overwhelmed; work, education, and treatment programs are inadequate; and idleness and stress lead to greater levels of violence. We have fought and continue to fight these conditions through successful litigation on behalf of prisoners in more than 25 states. In the 1990's, the NPP represented prisoners in five cases before the United States Supreme Court. This Project is the only organization litigating prison conditions of confinement nationwide on behalf of men, women, and juveniles.

Why We Are Staying

The work of the National Prison Project has never been more vital than it is now, nor under greater threat. The U.S. has an incarceration rate higher than any other country in the world and an unwillingness to consider alternatives to incarceration. The argument that prison is for punishment and not for rehabilitation continues to hinder serious consideration of the problems of our criminal justice system..

Our success in securing constitutional conditions of confinement through litigation has spurred congressional efforts to limit constitutional protections provided to prisoners. The Prison Litigation Reform Act, passed in 1996, severely restricts the ability of federal courts to ensure constitutional conditions for prisoners. Now, many states have decided to follow the federal government's example and enact laws that create similar obstacles for prisoners in the state court system.

We reject prisoner bashing as a short-sighted and counter-productive approach to criminal justice policy. The great majority of offenders will return to their home communities; the public interest is ill-served if they return battered in body and spirit, schooled in crime and angry at their treatment by society. Nor is it acceptable for any offender to be sexually assaulted, or beaten, or subjected to medical neglect as part of a criminal sentence.

As a result, we are working to address criminal justice policy issues and to educate the public about the ramifications, both social and fiscal, of our current emphasis on incarceration and the deliberate move away from rehabilitation toward debilitating punishment.