Cooper Brinson, Staff Attorney
Back in June, the US District Court for Oregon ruled that a lawsuit, filed by the Civil Liberties Defense Center on behalf of Angelo J. Fricano, should move forward to trial after successfully beating back the defendants attempts to have the case dismissed. The federal civil […]
In 2018, do your part to support incarcerated activists!
As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of the next, many of us are thinking about making resolutions for the new year. We have a suggestion: […]
Consistently, media covering President Obama’s historic 2-day visit to Cuba has focused on the need for Cuba to clean up its human rights record if it truly wants to normalize relations with the U.S. While Cuba may have some shortcomings when it comes to its human rights record, the U.S. should be hesitant in its condemnation of others for abuses when the U.S. commits and perpetuates serious abuses at home (and abroad).
Lori Berenson has spent much of the last 20 years in prison in Peru following being convicted of aiding the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement in planning an assault on the Peruvian Congress. This week marked the end of her sentence and being able to leave Peru, so she now heads home to the U.S.
This month, in Shadrick v. Hopkins County, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a private, for-profit corporation providing medical services to prisoners may be liable for violating the federal constitutional rights of prisoners by failing to adequately train its medical staff.
Prison holds a particular set of horrors for the transgender community. Until recently, American prisons housed transgender inmates by genitalia, and gender-confirming treatments of any kind were unavailable to the vast majority of transgender inmates.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued sweeping reforms to jail phone-call rates. In many states, prior to the reforms, the cost of a 15-minute in-state call could cost upwards of $5.
Last week, a federal court in Pennsylvania struck down a state law aimed at restricting the free speech rights of prisoners. In Mumia Abu Jamal v. Kane, the court addressed a new state law in Pennsylvania called the “Revictimization Relief Act,” which attempted to stop accused or convicted criminals from publicly expressing viewpoints that might offend the alleged victims of their crimes. The court found the law unconstitutional because it had an unlawful purpose, was vaguely executed, and was patently overbroad in its scope.
