News & Commentary
Ending Indefinite Solitary Confinement for the Vast Majority of People with Death Sentences in Oklahoma
By Travis Handler
Latest Event
Write the Row: Holiday Cards Event
Join ACLU of Oklahoma, the Julius Jones Institute, and the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty for an afternoon of community and solidarity! Together, we will be writing holiday cards to the men on death row.
The purpose of the “Write the Row” program is to affirm the humanity of the men on death row and ease their feelings of isolations through letters of encouragement. During this event, we want to ensure that the men and their families feel supported throughout the holiday season.
Letter writing materials and snacks will be provided. Please join us and invite your own friends and families to attend!
December 12 Hearing is Only the Beginning for Tondalao Hall’s Case
On December 12, Oklahoma mother of three, Tondalao Hall, with her ACLU attorneys, will take a crucial step in the long and tedious process to challenge her excessive sentence and to free her from Mabel Bassett Correctional Center.
Oklahomans with Disabilities Deserve Certainty
Imagine you’ve lived in the same home for your entire adult life, when suddenly, the government threatens your very existence, solely because state legislators cannot agree on a budget.
ACLU of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Disability Law Center, file Legal Action Against State Officials over Termination of Disability Services
On October 31, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services notified the over 20,000 recipients of Advantage and In-Home Supports Waivers for Adults that their benefits would be terminated on December 1, 2017. Regardless of potential action from the Governor’s office today...
New City Ordinance Will Not Reconcile Panhandling Restriction with Constitutions
OKLAHOMA CITY–The City Council of Oklahoma City approved this morning an amendment to the City’s previously adopted anti-panhandling ordinance, restricting the ability of citizens to sit, stand, or stay on public medians. The amendment changes which medians are affected by the ordinance but continues to restrict access to large numbers of public medians in Oklahoma City. In response, the ACLU of Oklahoma released the following statement:
ACLU of Oklahoma Sues Over Forced Labor, Human Trafficking in Court-Mandated “Rehab” Program
TAHLEQUAH, OK– The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma filed suit today against the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program (D.A.R.P., Inc. or D.A.R.P.) for a number of egregious abuses, including human trafficking and labor violations. The suit, filed on behalf of past participants at the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program facilities in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and Decatur, Arkansas, alleges the organization has been running an unpaid labor camp disguised as a rehabilitation center for the last decade.
Sessions Hopes to Undermine Criminal Justice Reform in Visit to Oklahoma
Backward-thinking Oklahoma sheriffs, prosecutors and legislators are bringing in outside help in their bid to undermine criminal justice reform overwhelmingly supported by Oklahoma voters and a large, diverse, nonpartisan coalition of Oklahomans that continues to grow.
Oklahoma City schools named for Confederate generals should be changed without delay
Monuments are being removed across the nation. These confederate monuments, symbols, and representatives started rooting up in the Jim Crow era as a threat to Black Americans and for the expansion of white supremacy ideology and its vestiges of white supremacy and nationalism.
UPDATED: ACLU Responds to Broken Police Culture that Resulted in Killing of Magdiel Sanchez
“We are incredibly saddened and disturbed by the news that an Oklahoma City police officer shot and killed Magdiel Sanchez, a deaf man confronted on his own porch. Police have an obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide reasonable modifications in their interactions with...
ACLU of Oklahoma Calls for End to Religious Proselytizing by Oklahoma Police Department
“Both the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution protect against government officials establishing a state religion. The exclusive, pervasive promotion of the Christian faith by the Mounds Police Department represents a clear violation...
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