American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky Foundation

Aclu-ky coordinated a coalition response to the ongoing jail death crisis at louisville metro department of corrections. 13 people have died in the facility in recent months due to overcrowding, insufficient medical care, and improper staffing. We worked with jefferson county justice partners to hold an amnesty court, which cleared active bench warrants for thousands of people. In addition, we raised nearly $300,000 to pay restitution to close 345 cases. The goal of this work was to keep as many people as possible out of the deadly facility. Our smart justice advocates, a group of leaders directly impacted by the criminal legal system, continued to meet, learning how to share their stories with decision-makers to bring about compassionate policy changes.

Aclu-ky coordinated a statewide voting rights campaign, the reclaim campaign, to engage people with prior felony convictions whose voting rights were restored under governor beshear's executive order. The multi-faceted campaign engaged grassroots organizations and directly impacted leaders to host public education events about restoration and point people toward voter registration resources and provide support for people who need a gubernatorial pardon to restore their right to vote. Our legal and advocacy teams work together to support statewide election protection efforts as well as a public education campaign for the 2022 judicial races.

After the fall of roe, the aclu-ky legal team took the fight for abortion access to Kentucky state courts. We are challenging two abortion bans that have ended abortion access in the commonwealth, save for procedures done under limited, emergency circumstances. The Kentucky supreme court denied our request to reinstate a lower court's temporary injunction in the case, which would have restored access while we continue to litigate. We are working with our clients at emw women's surgical center and co-counsel with planned parenthood to determine the next steps in our work to restore access. The aclu-ky breaking barriers council, a group of directly impacted leaders working to reduce racial disparities in maternal and infant health, continued to meet and host public education events.