
By Gabriel Eber, ACLU National Prison Project & Margaret Winter, ACLU National Prison Project
East Mississippi Correctional Facility is hyper-violent, grotesquely filthy and dangerous. Patients with severe psychiatric disabilities go without basic mental health care. Many prisoners attempt suicide. This video is the story of a young man who succeeded.
EMCF is a cesspool. Prisoners are underfed and often held in rat-infested cells without working toilets or lights. The prison is dangerously understaffed, and prisoners routinely set fires to attract the attention of officers to respond to emergencies. Without sufficient staff to protect prisoners, rapes, beatings, and stabbings are rampant. Read More Reprinted from ACLU Blog

DIAMONDHEAD, MISS. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi sent an open letter to the Diamondhead Property Owners Association (POA) on Monday on behalf of several residents of the City of Diamondhead who have complained that the POA's rules, regulations, and covenants do not permit them to display political yard signs or engage in door-to-door campaigning. The City of Diamondhead is in the midst of its first municipal elections since incorporation in 2012.
In the open letter, the ACLU called on the POA to assure residents that it would refrain from enforcing its covenants, rules, and regulations that impermissibly violate its members' First Amendment rights. Read More
(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed the state of Alabama, and gave a win to the Obama administration, by declining to review a lower court ruling that had blocked a controversial part of the state's tough immigration law. Read the full story on Rueters.
JACKSON, MS – "The immigration reform bill proposed by the so-called 'Gang of 8' has the potential to be a historic advance for the civil rights and liberties of immigrants and all Americans," said Amelia McGowan, Staff Attorney of the ACLU of Mississippi. "The bill would allow millions of immigrants who contribute immeasurably to the vitality of this country to step forward on the road to citizenship." Mississippi is home to over 61,000 immigrants, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2010. Read More
Jackson, MS – April 16, The ACLU-MS, a non-profit organization that defends the Constitution and extends liberty to all persons applauds the decision by United States District Judge Daniel Jordan III to uphold reproductive justice for Mississippi women.
U.S. District Judge Jordan today blocked enforcement of a law that could have closed the doors of the only abortion clinic in Mississippi. The law imposes medically unjustified regulations that require all doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. The Admitting Privileges portion of the law was politically motivated and designed to make it impossible for women to obtain the care they need in Mississippi. If not for District Judge Jordan's decision, women of Mississippi would have most certainly been deprived their Constitutional Rights.
“Today’s court decision should serve as a reminder to extremist politicians that the Constitution and the rights and protections therein are available to all, including women and their right to private decision-making,” said Jennifer Riley-Collins, Executive Director of ACLU-MS. “Unfortunately, we are seeing politicians across the country attempting to push through similarly drastic measures. ACLU-MS will remain vigilant in its support of reproductive justice in Mississippi." Download the decision
Jackson, MS – April 8, 2013: The ACLU-MS, a non-profit organization that defends the Constitutinal rights and extends liberty to all persons announced the appointment of its new Executive Director, Jennifer A. Riley-Collins. Ms. Riley-Collins, a native Mississippian, is an attorney with a demonstrated commitment to social justice and equality. She brings 14 years of legal experience, along with more than 25 years of leadership and organizational management both as an attorney and a military officer. Read more