News & Commentary

Responding to a “catastrophic” failure of school transportation services in Providence that left many students with disabilities stranded in getting to or from school last week, the ACLU of Rhode Island, joined by the R.I. Center for Justice, today sent a letter to state Dept. of Education.

ACLU of RI's statement on an executive order just issued by the Cranston’s Mayor that unilaterally giving the police department broad power to remove encampments.

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.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today announced the settlement of a federal lawsuit against Pawtucket city officials on behalf of five firefighters whose personal lockers at the fire station were searched by police without their knowledge or consent.

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.

After reports of four deaths of incarcerated individuals at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) in a period of three months, nine community organizations have called for an independent investigation of the deaths and greater transparency from the R.I. Department of Corrections (DOC).

In a victory against retaliatory lawsuits, the Weekapaug Fire District filed a motion dismissing Westerly resident Caroline Contrata from a lawsuit regarding a highly contentious shore access dispute in the town.

Responding to a recent report indicating that some Rhode Island-based police officers took privately-run training courses that promoted the use of unconstitutional policing tactics for motor vehicle stops and included blatantly discriminatory and offensive comments.