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ACLU of Alabama

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Birmingham designates park for protests amid ban on demonstrations elsewhere

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin on Wednesday said the city has selected a park where those who wish to hold demonstrations may do so.  Woodfin’s statement Wednesday followed his amended proclamation of a state of emergency on Tuesday that enacted a city-wide curfew and banned demonstrations and marches on city roads and property while the proclamation … Continued
June 3, 2020

ACLU of Alabama says Birmingham’s ban on demonstrations is overreach

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s ban on all demonstrations on city property runs counter to the city’s history of protest and of the U.S. Constitution, says the ACLU of Alabama.  Woodfin on Monday issued a state of emergency proclamation that set a city-wide curfew from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m., and banned demonstrations, parades, marches or … Continued
June 3, 2020

ACLU of Alabama backs right to protest

The ACLU of Alabama in a statement Tuesday expressed support for the Constitutionally protected right to protest and called for an end to racist policing.  “We support protesters in Alabama and across the nation who are expressing their grief at the senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all of the many Black men, … Continued
June 2, 2020

Less than 1 percent of Alabama inmates have been tested for COVID-19

As the number of prison workers in Alabama who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 continues to rise, the number of cases among inmates in the state’s dangerously overcrowded prisons has remained flat, and that likely comes down to testing.  Inmates in Alabama are only tested if they are exhibiting symptoms and a physician recommends the test. … Continued
May 29, 2020

ACLU of Alabama calls for more paroles during COVID-19 crisis

The ACLU of Alabama on Tuesday called on the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles to begin releasing inmates amid the COVID-19 outbreak.  The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP) on Tuesday held the bureau’s first parole hearings since the COVID-19 crisis began, and denied parole for 20 out of the 22 eligible people.  … Continued
May 20, 2020

ACLU of Alabama: Test Mobile County Jail inmates, not just workers

The ACLU of Alabama on Tuesday expressed concern that, while Mobile County Jail staff will be tested for COVID-19 following an outbreak of the virus there, inmates will not. Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran and Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson on Tuesday announced that after 38 inmates and 30 staff tested positive for COVID-19 a decision … Continued
May 5, 2020

Alabama appeals federal judge’s injunction against temporary abortion ban amid COVID-19

Attorney General Steve Marshall on Thursday appealed a federal judge’s partial block of the state’s temporary ban on abortions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Marshall in a statement Thursday said his office is appealing to the 11th Circuit of Appeals and file an emergency stay of U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson’s April 12 preliminary injunction preventing … Continued
April 16, 2020

State’s order closing businesses wrongfully blocks abortions, ACLU and clinics say

UPDATE at 8:15 p.m.: Federal Judge Myron Thompson issued a temporary restraining order Monday night, barring the state of Alabama from prohibiting abortions during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The temporary restraining order comes after abortion clinics and the ACLU sued the state, alleging that the statewide business closures ordered last week wrongfully and illegally prohibited … Continued
March 30, 2020

SPLC joins ACLU of Alabama in request for plans to protect jails, prisons from COVID-19

Civil rights groups are demanding that action is taken to protect people in jails and prisons, who are vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.  The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday called for the federal government and officials in Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida to protect those facilities through evidence-based protocols and to “release those people … Continued
March 17, 2020

ACLU of Alabama condemns bill banning transgender treatment for minors

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alabama has condemned a recently approved bill to prevent doctors from providing hormone replacement therapy or puberty suppressing drugs to people younger than 19 who identify as transgender. House Bill 303, the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, would make it a Class C felony, punishable by … Continued
February 28, 2020