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The Law That Sent a Man to Prison for Life for Stealing a Pair of Hedge Clippers – and What Prosecutors Can do About It
Last month, the Louisiana Supreme Court refused to review the life sentence of Fair Wayne Bryant, who was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to steal a pair of hedge clippers more than 20 years ago. Bryant’s sentence was the result of Louisiana’s extreme “habitual offender” law, which allows people to

The Long Road To Employment Non-Discrimination for LGBTQ People in Miami
The story isn’t exactly new. Some evidence suggests queer folks in Miami—mostly known or understood then as female or male “impersonators” or “pansies” who performed on stage—had formed small communities and networks by the mid-1930s. But it was mostly beginning in the next decade, after World War II, that a

Overhauling Our Immigration System Begins with Citizenship for All
As we approach the end of President Trump’s first term, it’s important to understand why and how he has inflicted such damage on our nation’s immigration system and advanced his anti-immigrant, racist agenda. Trump has been able to systematically undermine our immigration laws and principles of fundamental fairness because our

Let People Vote: Our Fight for Your Right to Vote During 2020
2020 has been an unprecedented year in many ways; a pandemic during a presidential election being one of them. Not unique to 2020, however, is politicians’ and states’ systematic efforts to suppress voting and disenfranchise Americans. But the ACLU, along with our affiliates and partners across the country, have been

ICE is Trying to Deport My Husband While I Treat COVID Patients
I work as a registered nurse in an intensive care unit in Southern California. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, I’ve been working alongside my colleagues as we try to save the lives of the sickest patients and comfort their families. The hours have been long, and we have all seen