News & Commentary

The voices have been there for years, if you were listening – horrific stories of abuse of inmates at Los Angeles County jails; not by other inmates, but by the deputies guarding them. The brutal conditions could only have persisted due to the willful ignorance or even tacit support of Sheriff Lee Baca – and that’s why we’re now calling on him to step down.

I had vowed never to return to the United Arab Emirates. In 2008-09, I represented Naji Hamdan, a Lebanese-American businessman who was tortured for three months in a secret prison and prosecuted on baseless terrorism charges. I observed Naji’s trial in the United Arab Emirates and came face to face with the injustices of its criminal justice system. I had vowed never to return to the UAE but human rights abuses happen in every part of the world, and the case of the men the media are calling the “UAE 5” drew me in.

What if the rest of your life were determined by a decision you made when you were 16 years old? For Cyntoia Brown, that scenario is a reality. When she was 16 years old, she murdered a man who would have forced her into prostitution. Now Cyntoia is locked up for the rest of her life, with no possibility for parole. California SB 9 would give the 300 inmates in California who were given life sentences when they were children, many with stories like Cyntoia's, a second chance. SB 9 would allow these young adults to petition the court for a review of their sentence after serving 10 years behind bars.

We warned you that the federal government had gotten into the snake-oil business with Secure Communities (S-Comm). Turns out that the actual purpose of S-Comm was just part of the story. The federal government also misled state and local governments, as well as the public, about whether or not the program was voluntary. 

  Kelly Thomas Fullerton has started to get it right.  The city has hired an independent consultant to investigate the death of Kelly Thomas.  This decision shows the city understands that the investigation must not only be independent but also go beyond -- far beyond -- potential criminality.

A comprehensive report released today by the ACLU of California and sent to officials in every county across the state urges local jurisdictions to fundamentally shift criminal justice policies toward “smart-on-crime” alternatives to incarceration. The new report, Community Safety, Community Solutions, offers guidelines and tools for county governments scrambling to implement the Governor’s new public safety realignment legislation, AB 109. The bill requires counties to take on new responsibilities for low-level non-violent offenders. Those inmates will no longer be sent to state prison beginning October 1.

The ACLU of Southern California is calling for an end to Secure Communities (S-Comm), a federal immigration enforcement program that threatens public safety, undermines civil liberties and leads to deportation of people with minor offenses and no criminal convictions at all.

In a nation defined by the concepts of justice, due process, and the rule of law, police must obey the law while they enforce the law. So who polices the police?

The Pelican Bay hunger strike has ended, but the conversation about solitary confinement must continue. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) must change its policies on solitary confinement for many persuasive reasons.