Criminal Justice
For the past generation, state and federal crime control policies have been based on the belief that law enforcement can solve the problem; more police, harsher sentencing laws, greater use of the death penalty. But today, with an unprecedented number of people behind bars, we are no safer than before. We are, however, much less free.
The rights guaranteed to criminal suspects, defendants, offenders and prisoners were not included in the Bill of Rights for the benefit of criminals. They are fundamental political rights that protect all Americans from governmental abuse of power. These rights are found in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. They include the guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure, the right to reasonable bail, the right to due process of law and the right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment. This "bundle of rights" is indispensable to a free society.
Capital punishment is the ultimate denial of civil liberties. The ACLU opposes capital punishment under all circumstances because it violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, is administered arbitrarily and unfairly, and fails to deter crime or improve public safety. In 1976, the ACLU launched its Capital Punishment Project, a public education and advocacy program that seeks to bring about the abolition of the death penalty. The ACLU of Massachusetts has been working hard to prevent the death penalty from returning to the Commonwealth.
Publications
1 Less Lethal Force Report
>> Appendix 1
>> Appendix 2
2 Disproportionate Minority Confinement in Massachusetts: Failures in Assessing and Addressing the Overrepresentation of Minorities in the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice System
>> Boston Globe editorial
>> Boston Globe Op-ed: Carol Rose, ACLU of Massachusetts
3 Why the ACLU Opposes Sex Offender Residence Restrictions |
