These are truly unusual times. The coronavirus pandemic has created a situation unlike any other in living memory. The civil liberties implications of this outbreak are significant, and our team at the ACLU of Pennsylvania has been working tirelessly to protect our constitutional rights.
It’s critical for Pennsylvanians to let the members of the commission know that we won't accept the commonwealth being one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to mass incarceration, and that we demand better from those who represent us.
Perhaps less well known is that, since its founding in 1920, the ACLU has been engaged in the fight for civil rights and racial equality. In 1931, it took up the case of the Scottsboro Boys – nine African-American teenagers wrongly accused of raping two white women.
As the president continues to use language that dehumanizes and demeans immigrants and refugees while enacting policies to terrorize communities, abuses like those suffered by Arturo and his co-workers will continue.
Last year, we filed a complaint with the state Supreme Court, on behalf of ten people, Youth Art and Self-empowerment Project, and the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, with the law firm Arnold & Porter as co-counsel.
Probation reform in Pennsylvania is a significant issue with bipartisan support among advocates, legislators, and in our communities.