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Civil Rights Lawyers and Mississippi Department of Corrections Agree to Overhaul Violent Supermax Unit (11/15/2007)
ABERDEEN, Miss. – The American Civil Liberties Union, the law firm of Holland & Knight, LLP, and the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) have reached a landmark agreement paving the way for the continued sweeping reform of a super maximum security unit – Unit 32 – in the Mississippi State Penitentiary, once notorious for violence and chaos. Under the agreement, MDOC will continue to remove hundreds of misclassified prisoners and all seriously mentally ill prisoners from supermax confinement; improve basic mental health care and impose additional restrictions on the use of force by guards.

Disparate Advocates Tell Congress to Fix Law That Silences Prisoner Abuse (11/08/2007)
Washington, DC – Conservative activists, academics and prisoners united today to urge members of a House Judiciary Committee subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security to reform the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). The PLRA, enacted in 1996, was passed to reduce frivolous prisoner lawsuits, but in reality the law has made it nearly impossible for prisoners to report abuse and unconstitutional conditions of confinement in federal court.

Civil Rights Groups Sue Doña Ana County Jail over Poor Mental Health Services (11/07/2007)
LAS CRUCES, NM—Civil rights groups sued the Dona Ana County Detention Center today for failure to provide adequate mental health services to inmates in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and constitutional prohibitions on “cruel and unusual punishment.” The class action suit charges county officials with “deliberate indifference to [inmates’] serious mental health needs,” including failure to provide adequate mental health screening, monitoring, and care. On behalf of plaintiffs, Protection and Advocacy System, Inc. (P&A), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, and private attorneys Michael Lilley of Las Cruces and Peter Cubra and Lisa Schatz-Vance of Albuquerque seek an effective program for mental health screening and treatment for all detainees and policy changes prohibiting the unnecessary incarceration of people with mental illness.

Amendment to Legislation Will Require Government Transparency and Accountability Regarding Immigrant Deaths in Custody (11/07/2007)
Washington, DC – An amendment that requires officials to report deaths of detainees in local and state custody was passed today by the House Judiciary Committee. The amendment, offered by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and attached to H.R. 3971, the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2007, mandates transparency and accountability by state and local agencies of all immigration detainees who die in their custody. Since most Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees are held in state and local facilities, most of the deaths of immigrants in detention would have to be reported to the attorney general.

HIV-Positive Prisoners Receive More Equal Treatment in Alabama After ACLU's Efforts (11/01/2007)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- After years of advocacy by the American Civil Liberties Union, AIDS Alabama and state legislators, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has agreed to give HIV-positive prisoners greater access to visitation, educational programs, substance abuse treatment programs, and religious services. Until now, HIV-positive prisoners have been denied these programs and services offered to the general population of inmates.

Breakthrough in Case for Children Stuck in Costly Mental Institutions (09/28/2007)
LOS ANGELES - In a breakthrough ruling that affects more than 25,000 California children suffering from serious mental illness, U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz has ordered an expert to oversee the expansion of home- and community-based mental health services for children who would otherwise end up in costly group homes and institutions.

ACLU Report Exposes Ongoing Civil and Human Rights Violations on the Gulf Coast as Katrina's Second Anniversary Nears (08/20/2007)
NEW ORLEANS - The American Civil Liberties Union today released a report revealing continuing incidents of racial injustice and human rights abuses on the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina devastated the area two years ago. In its report, Broken Promises: Two Years After Katrina, the ACLU exposes numerous civil rights violations that have occurred in Louisiana and Mississippi since the storm, including reports of heightened racially motivated police activity, housing discrimination, and prisoner abuse.

ACLU of Arizona Lawsuit Triggers Transfer of TB Patient to Denver Hospital (07/17/2007)
PHOENIX – After spending nearly one year in a Maricopa County jail ward despite never having committed any crime, tuberculosis patient Robert Daniels will be finally transferred on Thursday to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center to receive treatment for his tuberculosis infection, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona confirmed today.

ACLU of Arizona Lawsuit Triggers Transfer of TB Patient to Denver Hospital (07/17/2007)
PHOENIX – After spending nearly one year in a Maricopa County jail ward despite never having committed any crime, tuberculosis patient Robert Daniels will be finally transferred on Thursday to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center to receive treatment for his tuberculosis infection, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona confirmed today.

ACLU Sues U.S. Immigration Officials and For-Profit Corrections Corporation Over Grossly Deficient Health Care (06/13/2007)
SAN DIEGO -- The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of immigrant detainees at San Diego Correctional Facility (SDCF), charging that inadequate medical and mental health care have caused unnecessary suffering and, in several cases, avoidable death.

NYCLU Urges City Council to Oppose Jail Standard Changes (06/07/2007)
NEW YORK - In testimony today before the New York City Council, the New York Civil Liberties Union will argue that proposed changes to the Minimum Standards governing New York City jails would erode civil liberties and public safety and unfairly punish pre-trial prisoners who have not been convicted of any crime. Along with a coalition of advocates, the NYCLU will ask the City Council to urge the New York City Board of Correction to abandon the proposed changes.

ACLU of Texas Applauds Passage of Prison Rape Elimination Bill (05/22/2007)
AUSTIN, TX – The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas cheers the passage of House Bill 1944, a measure that seeks to eliminate sexual assault in Texas Prisons, which cleared the Texas Senate yesterday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), also garnered support from the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA), Stop Prison Rape, and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).