News & Commentary

A new report has been released, "Trapped in Time: The Silent Crisis of Elderly Incarceration," exposing how U.S. prisons are failing to keep up with the rising number of aging people behind bars.

Our criminal legal system is supposed to hold people accountable. If done right, accountability can repair relationships, build trust, help people learn from mistakes and make our community safer.

At the ACLU of Alaska, public safety is a uniting theme that weaves all of our work together.

Since the House Judiciary Committee's two-hour hearing about deaths in custody at the end of March, and the deaths the Department of Corrections (DOC) neglected to count, two more Alaskans have died.

Every year during and after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the ACLU of Alaska receives reports from Muslim inmates that Alaska's Department of Corrections (DOC) fails to properly accommodate their Ramadan observance.

Nearly two years ago, the ACLU of Alaska filed a lawsuit to protect the due process rights of incarcerated people who are subject to the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) egregious and unlawful involuntary medication policy.   

I joined the Alaska Public Defender Agency in 2021. On my first day, I was given 273 cases. For a few months in 2022, I had about 400 cases at once.

With support from the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, we’ve revamped the Prisoner Rights Guide for incarcerated Alaskans.

This year, the Alaska Parole Board held its annual public meeting on one of the busiest and most intense days for Alaskans and people across the country: Election Day. If you missed it, here are our takeaways.