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Sep 16, 2019

Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing’s Risk Assessment Tool: What Happened

Ten years after the state legislature mandated that the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing create a risk assessment tool to be used at sentencing, the commission finally voted on and passed a proposal in...

By ACLU of Pennsylvania

Sep 4, 2019

A Vote This Week Could Mean A Tool That Will Deepen — Not Relieve — Racial Disparities In Criminal Sentencing Is Coming To Pennsylvania

It has been said that the definition of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting a different outcome. This week, the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing may be approaching their own brand of...

By Nyssa Taylor

Aug 1, 2019

The Pennsylvania State Police Unfairly Targets Latinx People

On June 27, after analyzing over 30 incidents involving state police stops and interactions that impacted over 150 people, the ACLU of Pennsylvania and a team of volunteer attorneys filed a federal civil...

By ACLU of Pennsylvania

Jul 23, 2019

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is Serious About Investigating Bail Practices in Philly

After more than a year of gathering data and urging Philadelphia bail judges to follow the letter of the law, in early July, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced that it would launch an investigation...

Jul 18, 2019

Probation in Pennsylvania Keeps People Trapped in the Cycle of Incarceration

Imagine a world in which you can be detained by police and thrown in jail for taking a phone call from a family member. Or for walking down the same street in your neighborhood that you’ve been taking for...

By Elizabeth Randol

Jul 12, 2019

Elected Officials Cannot Block People on Social Media

From Franklin Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” on radio to John F. Kennedy’s mastery at the televised debate, politicians have made use of the latest communications technology to reach people with their message...