News & Commentary

Paige Fernandez, Former Policing Policy Advisor, ACLU National Political Advocacy Department This OpEd

Yesterday, we joined the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, and Philando Castile, and over 600 human rights groups in demanding the United Nations Human Rights Council swiftly convene a special session to investigate the escalating situation of police violence and repression of protests in the United States.As we wrote last week, multiple South Carolina law enforcement agencies have responded to non-violent protests about police violence with more violence.  We have observed police officers actively pursue peaceful protestors, making arrests and firing projectiles and chemicals. 

Since the Minneapolis Police Department murdered George Floyd on May 25, law enforcement in South Carolina and across the nation have responded to non-violent protests against police violence with more violence. 

This op ed was published by the Charleston City Paper on June 4, 2020. On Sunday afternoon, multiple police departments converged in Charleston, S.C. to break up peaceful protests calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality against black people. Their actions made another great case for why we must drastically reduce policing in our society, especially in communities of color that historically have been over-policed. Their response to a non-violent protest about police violence was pure and unnecessary brutality. It was both unbelievable and predictable. Read the full piece here. 

We sent a letter today to the leaders of law enforcement agencies whose officers participated in violent actions against non-violent protestors in Charleston on Sunday, May 31. We observed as police officers actively pursued peaceful protestors, making arrests and firing projectiles and chemicals. The brutality we witnessed matches additional complaints we have received from individuals in Charleston and other parts of South Carolina. These actions were clear, dangerous, and counterproductive responses to people exercising their Constitutional rights. Our letter calls for a public apology for officers’ actions, plan for investigating and holding officers who used excessive force accountable, and steps agencies will take to protect and ensure the fundamental right to protest.

No one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote. Earlier this month, the South Carolina General Assembly passed legislation allowing all registered voters to vote by mail in the upcoming June 9 primary election. On Monday, a federal court ruled favorably in our lawsuit, blocking a requirement that forced people who vote absentee to obtain a witness signature. 

Along with our partners Root & Rebound, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center and Wyche, P.A., we filed a lawsuit today in the United States District Court challenging Spartanburg County’s failure to protect incarcerated people from risks associated with a COVID-19 outbreak in custodial settings. Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) also joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff on behalf of incarcerated people with disabilities. Defendants named in the suit are Sheriff Chuck Wright and Jail Administrator Allen Freeman. 

This op ed was published by The State on May 22, 2020.COVID-19 has made it harder to ignore our failures as a society. Workers are forced to choose between their health and a paycheck. Children who lack internet access at home do not receive an equal education. Tens of millions of people are forced to navigate a global health pandemic without health insurance. Incarcerated people are locked in crowded facilities where social distancing is impossible. People who lost their job face the loss of their home.

COVID-19 has illuminated our failures as a society. To urge decision makers to minimize the harms made worse by this pandemic, today we released a blueprint for COVID-19 relief in South Carolina. The blueprint calls on our leaders to ensure the burdens of the pandemic do not unfairly fall on South Carolina’s most vulnerable communities and that all responses are rooted in science and public health and are no more intrusive on civil liberties than necessary. To ensure a COVID-19 response that protects all people, South Carolina must: