News & Commentary

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 .

2011 has come and gone. The ACLU of Delaware has made great progress, but we are still focused on the future. Thank you for your support this year.

World AIDS Day, observed each year on December 1, redirects our attention away from the statistics and reminds us of the people behind those numbers.

On Monday, November 28th, members of the ACLU Club of Widener Law School and ACLU-DE Stay In School Coordinator, Alexandria Nedd, volunteered at the H. Fletcher Brown Boys and Girls Club in Wilmington.

This month, the ACLU of Delaware filed suit against the City of Wilmington for refusal to provide information regarding policies and procedures on the use of tasers and the department's acquisition and retention of cell phone records. Read more about the FOIA requests here.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware (ACLU-DE) has sent a letter to the Capital School District Board of Education advising them that the social media policy they are considering for students violates the First Amendment of the U.S Constitution. The policy, as written, would govern student communication both on and off school property and would apply whether school or personal electronic equipment was used.

During the week of October 1-8, 2011, thousands of students, parents, educators, and advocates in 13 states will participate in a National Week of Action on School Pushout to promote local and national alternatives to the nation's current zero-tolerance school discipline culture.