News & Commentary

Concluding a lawsuit involving a disturbing case of serious police misconduct, the ACLU of Rhode Island announced the favorable settlement of a case on behalf of Woonsocket resident Mack Blackie who was twice unlawfully and falsely arrested and detained by Woonsocket police.

The lawsuit argues that RIDOC has refused to accommodate an array of religious practices that Native Americans are routinely allowed to practice in federal and state prisons across the country.

The ACLU of Rhode Island announced today the favorable settlement of a lawsuit that challenged the R.I. Department of Corrections’ (RIDOC) restrictive policies governing the religious freedom of people incarcerated at the ACI

In a victory for government transparency and accountability, as well as protection of the sanctity of the attorney-client privilege, the RI Department of Corrections (RIDOC) has acknowledged its obligations to follow the public rule-making provisions of the state’s Administrative Procedures Act

A lawsuit filed today by ACLU of Rhode Island cooperating attorneys alleges that the R.I. Department of Corrections (RIDOC) is interfering with the rights of ACI prisoners and their attorneys to share information confidentially and, in the process, violating their constitutional rights

In a disturbing case of serious police misconduct, ACLU of Rhode Island cooperating attorneys have filed a lawsuit today on behalf of a Woonsocket resident, Mack Blackie, who was twice unlawfully and falsely arrested and detained by Woonsocket police

Mario Monteiro, the namesake of “Mario’s Law,” the state law designed to give youthful offenders with long prison sentences the opportunity to apply for parole after 20 years, was released from the ACI today after serving more than 22 years in prison for a crime he committed at the age of 17.

Cooperating attorneys for the ACLU of Rhode Island have today filed three lawsuits against Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) supervisors and staff on behalf of the family members of three individuals who died by suicide at the prison within the span of five months last year.

In a major victory for criminal justice reform and the rights of youthful offenders, the Rhode Island Supreme Court today ruled that Mario Monteiro and other similarly situated teenagers and young adults are eligible for parole consideration for release to the community after serving twenty years.