05.08.20
ACLU of Ohio Sends 3 Sets of Records Requests Seeking More Information About Management of COVID-19 for Incarcerated Populations
By Collin Marozzi
Ohioans behind bars are especially vulnerable to contracting COVID-19. The ACLU of Ohio sent three sets of records requests to learn more about what Ohio officials are – and are not – doing to prevent and mitigate the spread of the highly contagious and often deadly virus. The handling of the COVID-19 crisis in… more »
05.08.20
Playing Politics with Essential Health Care: Abortion Access in Ohio during the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Sabrina Harris
National Women’s Health Week (NWHW) is recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH) as a time to remind women and girls that they are in control of their health journey. OWH launched NWHW in 2000 to empower women to make health a priority. This year, the… more »
04.29.20
The Legacy of the Kent State Shootings: 50 Years Later
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
In this last week, protesters took to the streets all across the nation to protest quarantine and lock down orders put into place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the world. In Ohio, to the dismay of many, there were several days of protesters swarming the Ohio Statehouse in order to… more »
04.28.20
Reducing Ohio Jail Populations Will Help Flatten the Curve, So What Are Counties Doing About It?
By Sabrina Harris
Last week the ACLU along with academic partners released a new epidemiological model that shows COVID-19 could claim the lives of as many as 200,000 people – double the federal government’s estimate – if jail populations are not dramatically and immediately reduced. The ACLU model used data from more than 1,200 midsize and large… more »
04.21.20
COVID-19 Highlights Long-Known Issues of Systemic Racism
By Collin Marozzi
At least 27 states and Washington D.C. have begun releasing racial breakdowns of COVID-19 in their jurisdictions. The data released so far has shown that by in large Black people are dying at disturbingly disproportionate rates. For example, Black people represent 43 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Illinois, but make up only 14 percent… more »
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04.10.20
Coronavirus Will Spread like Wildfire in our Prisons without Sweeping Action
By Jocelyn Rosnick
Coronavirus has landed in Ohio’s prisons. This is no surprise. That’s why the ACLU of Ohio and other advocates have been urging Governor DeWine, ODH Director Acton, DRC Director Chambers-Smith, and DYC Director Gies for several weeks to use their powers to quickly and safely reduce incarcerated populations across Ohio – especially for those… more »
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04.01.20
Updates On Our COVID-19 Hotline for Ohio’s Incarcerated Population
By ACLU of Ohio
Through our hotline, [email protected], we’ve heard from over 100 people with incarcerated loved ones – mostly in the state’s prisons – reporting that people are in danger, and that they are terrified now that the virus is in the prisons. And we have learned that the DRC is not testing prison staff, a key… more »
03.25.20
Voting Rights Groups Push Back On Senate Bill 294
By Freda Levenson
To: Speaker Householder, Minority Leader Sykes, Senate President Obhof, Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, all members of the Ohio General Assembly CC: Statehouse Press Corps RE: Opposition to Senate Bill 294 and minimum acceptable steps to ensure every eligible Ohioan can successfully cast a ballot From: ACLU of Ohio, All Voting is Local, Common Cause Ohio, Faith in Public Life, League of… more »
03.20.20
Visibility Matters: Transgender Day of Visibility 2020
By Sabrina Harris
March 31st marks the annual Transgender Day of Visibility, an international holiday that celebrates transgender and gender non-conforming individuals. The day is dedicated to acknowledging all that has been accomplished to promote trans equality and justice in the face of adversity. It is also a time to raise awareness around the discrimination that unfortunately… more »
03.13.20
Ohioans: Here’s How to Keep Calm and Vote on
By Sarah Khan-Williamson
If you thought voting was confusing any other time than right now, coronavirus has most certainly beaten that standard by a long shot. With schools shutting down, polling locations changing last minute due to vulnerable population concerns, and the number of cases increasing daily, registered voters might be feeling panicked and wondering if you… more »