News & Commentary

Kirk Bloodsworth and Shujaa Graham, two death row exonerees, will be giving public talks made possible by Witness to Innocence, The Peninsula-Delaware Conference of the United Methodist Church, and others this May in Delaware.

After almost six years out of the limelight, Delaware’s death penalty system began grabbing headlines again when the state executed Robert Jackson in July of 2011 and Derrick Powell and Leslie Small were sentenced to death in the months following.

On Friday, a Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington issued a stipulated order that respects the private communications of a Delaware same-sex couple married in California prior to the effective date of Delaware's civil union law.

The Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League Young Professionals and the Delaware Human Relations Commission sponsored a forum on voting rights in celebration of Black History Month.

Wilmington parents and students are learning strategies to respond to overly harsh discipline policies, avoid suspensions and expulsions, and increase the odds of graduation from high school as a result of the new ACLU of Delaware Stay in School Project.

At 10am on January 1 2012, Delaware's law adopting same-sex civil unions took effect. Later that afternoon, former ACLU-DE executive director, Drewry Fennell and her partner, Lisa B. Goodman, president of Equality Delaware, became the first couple in Delaware to be joined in a same-sex, civil-union.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell made history today when he announced that he would commute the death sentence of Robert Gattis to life in prison. Two days ago, the Delaware Board of Pardons for the first time in its history recommended that the death sentence be commuted. Gov. Markell cited that “unusual and perhaps historic” recommendation when he made the announcement.

Issues of clemency for Robert Gattis and the overturn of a 20 year old death sentence have put Delaware’s death penalty in the spotlight. This is an important moment for those who support repeal of the death penalty and an opportunity for you to get involved.

The ACLU of Delaware is working to end school push out, or one of the causes of the school to prison pipeline. Stay tuned for programming updates .