Seeing and hearing prisoners who have experienced prolonged solitary confinement is not easy. The emotional and physical damage done to prisoners held in solitary does not present a pretty picture.
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.
A few days after the end of the Pelican Bay hunger strike, I was interviewed on KCRW’s “Which Way, LA?” in the same segment as spokespeople from California Prison Health Services and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The … Continue reading
On July 26, ACLU/SC Executive Director Hector Villagra joined “Which Way, LA?” to discuss the destructive effects of the Secure Housing Units on public safety. “Imagine how bad conditions have to be there that people would risk starving themselves to … Continue reading
ACLU/SC Executive Director Hector Villagra delivered the following remarks at a press conference at the KRST Unity Center in South Los Angeles. It has been said that to measure the degree of civilization in a society, you must enter its … Continue reading
The ACLU of California supports the striking prisoners’ demands to end cruel and inhumane conditions in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay State Prison. These conditions include prolonged, solitary confinement in small, windowless concrete boxes with little to … Continue reading
In response to the death of Geronimo Pratt, ACLU/SC Chief Counsel Mark Rosenbaum issued the following statement: The ACLU represented Geronimo throughout his terrible nearly three decades-long ordeal along with Stuart Hanlon and Johnnie Cochran, first during his federal habeas … Continue reading
ACLU of Southern California, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Legal Center, and Winston & Strawn filed an application for a temporary restraining order against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on behalf of an inmate with a mobility impairment, who … Continue reading
The parties today announced the settlement of a landmark class action lawsuit filed against Los Angeles County agencies alleging the failure to provide a constitutionally adequate education to youth detained at Camp Challenger, the County’s largest juvenile detention facility. Under … Continue reading
Since shortly after Naji Hamdan, an American citizen, was arrested and held incommunicado in the United Arab Emirates in 2008, the ACLU of Southern California has been working to obtain the truth about why the U.A.E. held, tortured, and charged … Continue reading
Because freedom can't protect itself.
There are many who seek to consolidate their power at the expense of others, and the ACLU helps balance the scales by defending justice, freedom and fairness.
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