News & Commentary

The Prison Policy Initiative has done an analysis of every state's prison system to determine where each state stands compared to the world. South Carolina's position? Shocking.

In 1998, teachers in West Virginia strapped a 4-year-old autistic girl with cerebral palsy to a wooden chair. Why? She was being “uncooperative” because she needed to use the bathroom. The girl suffered bruises and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a rare unanimous ruling in Timbs v. Indiana, holding for the first time that the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause applies to state and local governments — not just federal authorities. 

This month marks 50 years since the landmark Supreme Court ruling that cemented students’ rights to free speech in public schools, Tinker v. Des Moines. We’re inspired to see that students still take advantage of their First Amendment rights and speak out on political issues today.

Legislators in the House and Senate have officially introduced bills that would give full legal protections to fertilized eggs.  These so-called "Personhood" bills are a dangerous and misguided attack on reproductive healthcare for women.  Not only would this effectively ban abortion, but some birth control as well. IVF treatments would also be in jeopardy.  And doctors who perform abortions, and the women who get abortions, could be subject to criminal prosecution.

After more than a month of threats, a government shutdown, and bipartisan action by Congress, President Trump has finally declared a national emergency to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on his border wall obsession. In response, the ACLU will file a lawsuit early next week challenging this blatantly illegal executive action.

In Conway, South Carolina, a 72-year-old widow hides inside, her curtains drawn, fearing that local law enforcement will attempt to take away her home for a third time. Ella Bromell has never been convicted of a crime. So how has her house been at risk of seizure for over a decade?

Last week, the Supreme Court permitted the state of Alabama to execute a Muslim man, Domineque Ray, without his religious advisor present. The court’s 5-4 decision reversed an emergency lower-court order that had temporarily delayed the execution because of grave concerns that Alabama’s practice of allowing only the state’s Christian chaplain to be present in the execution chamber unconstitutionally favored Christian prisoners.

Dashir Moore, a transgender man from Georgia, wanted a fresh start in life. So at the age of 31, he packed up and moved to Colorado, a state that offered both a great lifestyle and trans healthcare. He hoped he could finally be himself.