ACLU Sues Department of Corrections Over Unlawful Incarceration of Juvenile Offenders
ACLU of Rhode Island cooperating attorneys filed two petitions in R.I. Superior Court today, claiming that the R.I. Department of Corrections (DOC) is unlawfully keeping in prison individuals who were convicted of crimes committed when they were juveniles or very young adults. The legal action claims that the DOC is violating a law enacted by the General Assembly last year that targeted lengthy sentences meted out to young offenders and explicitly sought to help them get early release from those sentences.