News & Commentary

The Wisconsin State Assembly proposed a $350 million plan to build a new prison.  The following is a joint statement from the ACLU of Wisconsin, African-American Civic Engagement Roundtable, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC), Black Lives Matter to Wisconsin Unitarian Universalists, Dane County's Derail the Jail Coalition, The Demeter Foundation, The Dominican Center, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, EXPO (EX-incarcerated People Organizing), FCAB (Felmers Chaney Advocacy Board), Free The 350 Bail Fund in Dane County, GenderQueer Milwaukee, Grass Roots Northshore, JOSHUA, Kids Forward, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT), Madison Chapter National Lawyers Guild, Madison-area Urban Ministry, MICAH (Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope), Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, Milwaukee National Lawyers Guild, Milwaukee Turners' Confronting Mass Incarceration, NAACP Milwaukee Branch, National Association of Social Workers – Wisconsin, Operation Welcome Home (OWH), Our Democracy 2020, Our Wisconsin Revolution--Dane County, People's Progressive Organizing Committee, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, Priceless Incite, Progressive Baptist Church, Rid Racism Milwaukee, Schools and Communities United, SOPHIA, Uplifting Black Liberation and Community (UBLAC), Wisconsin Council of Churches, Wisconsin Justice Initiative, Wisconsin Network for Peace Justice and Sustainability (WNPJS), Wisconsin Poor People's Campaign, Wisconsin Transgender Health Coalition, Wisconsin Unitarian Universalist State Action Network, Wisconsin Voices, WISDOM, and Youth Justice Milwaukee, YWCA of Southeastern Wisconsin, and 9 to 5 Wisconsin reacting to the announcement:

This is what we told all of the legislators who asked us about AB 351 / SB 279 regulating the use of law enforcement body cameras:

Today, Western District Judge Peterson found that the use of solitary confinement, pepper spray and restraints at two juvenile facilities in Wisconsin violate youths’ constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.  The court ordered the parties to propose the terms of a preliminary injunction to end the inhumane conditions and practices within two weeks of today’s order.  The suit was originally filed in January on behalf of youth confined in the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and the Copper Lake School for Girls. Yesterday and today, the ACLU of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center, with pro-bono assistance from Quarles & Brady argued in the Western District Court that children incarcerated at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake needed immediate relief while the case was being litigated.

We are witnessing a moment of national attention on policing, from discussions about racial profiling, over-reliance on police to solve social, educational, and public health issues, and widespread examples of excessive uses of force.

Collins et al. v. The City of Milwaukee et al.  

MILWAUKEE- The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin affirms the vital need for transparency in the investigation of the June 23rd shooting of Jay Anderson by a Wauwatosa police officer.  ACLU Executive Director Chris Ahmuty issued the following statement:

Since the beginning of 2015, police in Wisconsin have killed 30 people, according to one media database. In Madison, Neenah, Eau Claire, Wausau, East Troy, Wauwatosa and Milwaukee, officers have used their power to its ultimate extent.

The ACLU of Wisconsin sent the below comments to Attorney General Lynch, Deputy Attorney General Yates, and Assistant Attorney General Mason regarding the Proposed Implementation of Deaths In Custody Reporting Act (DICRA):