News & Commentary

The confluence of the opioid epidemic and the relocation of low-level offenders to Indiana county jails, among other factors, have left jails dramatically overcrowded, understaffed, and lacking adequate resources to appropriately house and care for the individuals incarcerated there.

Women’s equality, and especially the concept of feminism, have long been controversial topics. And although so much progress has been made, we still have a long way to go. So how will we know when we’ve “achieved” equality?

Across Indiana, inmates are being subjected to overcrowded jail cells and inhumane living conditions. Many are forced to sleep on cell floors, exposed to extremely dirty conditions with insects and black mold. Even worse, when prisons and jails are over capacity, the needs of prisoners with medical and mental health needs are often overlooked and unmet.

The ACLU of Indiana is urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) not to roll back health care protections for transgender people.

An Indiana county has taken a retroactive step, approving a pay-to-stay policy that will likely send people who are incarcerated hurling back into the criminal justice system by loading them with debt. Pay-to-stay policies involve inmate fees charged by jails and prisons while people are incarcerated, locking people in cycles of imprisonment and debt. Not only are these pay-to-stay programs fiscally impractical, they perpetuate mass incarceration.

There is no doubt that May was deterring for pro-choice advocates across the country. In some states, such as Alabama and Louisiana, politicians pushed through laws that ban most abortions. In others, politicians are doing everything they can to shut down the health centers that many women rely on for basic reproductive health services, including abortion access. Nevertheless, Americans have come out in large numbers to protest these restrictions, and thousands of women have come forward to share their personal stories using hashtag #youknowme.

I’m proud to lead the ACLU of Indiana LGBTQ Rights Project, where we fight for transgender people in the Indiana statehouse, in the courts and in our communities. We raise up transgender leaders and support their work all over the state. So far, we’ve trained nearly 40 advocates through our Indiana Trans Justice Project, and they are hard at work educating their communities and their lawmakers.

On May 21, hundreds of Hoosiers joined the ACLU of Indiana, Planned Parenthood of Indianapolis and Kentucky, and Indiana's Chapter of the Women's March on Washington to stand up for reproductive rights. The day of action was part of a nationwide movement in opposition to the extreme abortion bans signed into law in states across the country.

The mass incarceration crisis, in Indiana and across the country, has taken a huge toll on families and communities, and has wasted trillions of taxpayer dollars. The current system has failed, disproportionately effecting communities of color. But reformers cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach to ending mass incarceration. Legislative, policing and prosecutorial reform must be specific to combatting these disparities.