News and Commentary

As the leading civil rights organization in the Lone Star State, we at the ACLU of Texas believe it is our duty to keep the public informed about the state of their civil liberties. The work we do at the legislature, in the courts, and in our communities is important, but there is no better defender of civil rights than a public that is informed and engaged.

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Mar 18, 2015

How Did a Lifelong Prison Sentence for an Iraq Vet Turn Into an Imminent Death Sentence?

Courtney Lockhart is an Iraqi war veteran now on Alabama's death row, but he shouldn't be.

The jury that heard the prosecutor's request for his execution voted unanimously against it, opting instead...

By By Cassandra Stubbs, Director, ACLU Capital Punishment Project

Courtney Lockhart is an Iraqi war veteran now on Alabama's death row, but he shouldn't be.

The jury that heard the prosecutor's request for his execution voted unanimously against it, opting instead...

By By Cassandra Stubbs, Director, ACLU Capital Punishment Project
Mar 18, 2015

Big Government v. Traumatized Defenseless Children = Justice?

Imagine a child alone in immigration court – defenseless – representing herself against a government prosecutor, standing before an immigration judge, and trying, in a language she does not speak, to make a...

By By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office

Imagine a child alone in immigration court – defenseless – representing herself against a government prosecutor, standing before an immigration judge, and trying, in a language she does not speak, to make a...

By By Joanne Lin, Washington Legislative Office
Mar 16, 2015

America's Mass Incarceration Habit Needs a Serious Fix

When I was growing up in East Flatbush, one of the toughest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, one of my very best friends was something else. He, let's call him MZ, could have had Hollywood on a string. He was...

By By Michael K. Williams

When I was growing up in East Flatbush, one of the toughest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, one of my very best friends was something else. He, let's call him MZ, could have had Hollywood on a string. He was...

By By Michael K. Williams
Mar 16, 2015

Judge to Government: 'National Security' Isn't a 'Magic Word' That Allows Constitutional Rights Violations

For the past seven months, the Department of Homeland Security has been detaining and refusing to release immigrant mothers and children – even ...

By By Lindsay Nash, Skadden Fellow, Immigrants' Rights Project

For the past seven months, the Department of Homeland Security has been detaining and refusing to release immigrant mothers and children – even ...

By By Lindsay Nash, Skadden Fellow, Immigrants' Rights Project
Mar 16, 2015

Can You Think of a Better Way to Spend $7.2 Billion Than Unnecessarily Locking Up Nonviolent Offenders and Undocumented Immigrants?

The Department of Justice spends $7.2 billion a year to incarcerate over 209,000 people in the federal Bureau of Prisons at a cost of over $30,000 per year per person.

This is unsustainable, both...

By By Jesselyn McCurdy, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

The Department of Justice spends $7.2 billion a year to incarcerate over 209,000 people in the federal Bureau of Prisons at a cost of over $30,000 per year per person.

This is unsustainable, both...

By By Jesselyn McCurdy, ACLU Washington Legislative Office
Mar 15, 2015

'Tech Can Be a Champion of Privacy,' Edward Snowden Tells Tech Leaders at SXSW

Edward Snowden had a message for some two dozen technology leaders at the SXSW Interactive festival today: “Tech can be a champion of privacy.” 
 
In an hour-long meeting...
By By Noa Yachot, Communications Strategist, ACLU
Edward Snowden had a message for some two dozen technology leaders at the SXSW Interactive festival today: “Tech can be a champion of privacy.” 
 
In an hour-long meeting...
By By Noa Yachot, Communications Strategist, ACLU