ICYMI: Alabama Civil Liberties News in September

For the ACLU of Alabama, the month of September was a busy month! So in case you missed it, here are some highlights on our work with the upcoming midterms, our effort to reform the criminal justice system, and a new case with First Amendment implications.

By Alysheia Shaw-Dansby

staff presenting at event

It’s Time to Close a Loophole in the Constitution’s Double Jeopardy Rule

The ACLU and ACLU of Alabama, alongside the Cato Institute and the Constitutional Accountability Center, filed an amicus brief in Gamble v. United States urging the Supreme Court to end the “dual-sovereignty” loophole for good.

By David Cole, Somil Trivedi

Supreme Court Stormy

Alabama's prisons are at a crossroads

Alabama’s prisons are notoriously some of the worst in the country. They’re violent. They’re underfunded. They’re unable to handle the mental health care needs of those incarcerated. And they’re also overcrowded.

By Rebecca Seung-Bickley

we've got blueprints for every state to cut incarceration in half

Meet Dillon Nettles, ACLU of Alabama's New Policy Analyst

Every day I approach my work with the question, “how can I find solutions to our communities’ greatest challenges?”.

By Dillon Nettles

dillon headshot

ICYMI: Alabama Civil Liberties News in Summer 2018

Thank you for supporting the ACLU of Alabama. As you know, our team has been working zealously this year in the fight for equality and human rights. This newsletter will be a roundup of ACLU's top news stories.

By Alysheia Shaw-Dansby

panelists

Alabama Abortion Decision Raises Alarms Ahead of Kavanaugh Hearings

This week, a federal appeals court struck down Alabama’s ban on a safe, medically proven abortion method. The decision shows just how high the stakes are ahead of next month’s Senate confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court.

By Andrew Beck

keep abortion legal sign

People are people, not cancers

Roy Johnson’s “Alabama's violent criminal sweeps extract cancers among us; what happens next?” column was troubling. Calling people accused of crimes a “cancer” is grossly dehumanizing.

By Rebecca Seung-Bickley

people not prisons

The Power of the Prosecutor: A Personal Account

Like millions of others in this country, my experience didn’t involve expensive defense lawyers, just overworked and underpaid public defenders.

By Ashley Sawyer

gavel

What can I do to help with family separations right here in Alabama?

Learn how to get involved in the fight for immigrants' rights.

speakers at the rally