News & Commentary

The solution to houselessness, addiction, and theft is not returning to a failed mass incarceration experiment but serving our communities with resources and support.

For 100 years, the ACLU of Southern California has fought to defend and advance civil liberties in the southland. Curated in partnership with the Los Angeles Review of Books, our 2023 Reading Guide is a reflection of our region’s rich literary roots, featuring contemporary California authors whose works inform our mission and challenge us to realize a more just and equitable future.

The 2022 midterm elections brought a lot of wins for Southern Californians, including housing rights and sheriff accountability.

After serving two decades in prison, for a crime he did not commit, Franky Carrillo proved his innocence and is now fighting for justice.

L.A. County should commit to a “care first, jails last” approach to mental health treatment.

Q&A with Community Organizer Natalia Serrano

When I was a teenager, an Orange County judge sentenced me to 24 years in prison for a robbery in which no one was physically harmed.

The court-ordered victory shows that decarceration is not only possible, it’s critically important

After a parole board granted Richard Mireles his freedom earlier this year, he was shocked to learn that he still couldn't cast a vote in California, the state he had lived in since he was born. Just three months shy of his 21st birthday, a court gave Richard a life sentence on his first felony case. In the two decades of his incarceration, Richard worked hard to change his life. He got sober, worked to heal past traumas, earned his college degree and numerous commendations, and was even found suitable for release at his first parole hearing. It didn't seem right that California would continue punishing him after his release by denying him one his most fundamental rights of citizenship.