The ACLU established its National Prison Project in 1972 and is the only national litigation program on behalf of prisoners. The ACLU continues to fight unconstitutional conditions and the "lock 'em up" mentality that prevails in the legislatures. The action on behalf of prisoners’ rights include addressing conditions of confinement, immigrant detention, lack of physical and mental health care, over-incarceration (including skyrocketing incarceration rates, the impact of truth-in-sentencing and racial disparities), restriction of many constitutional rights (including freedom of religion), and the needs of women in prison.
