The ACLU of North is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to defend and strengthen the individual rights and liberties guaranteed in the United States and North Dakota Constitutions through lobbying, selective litigation, and public education. In the 2019 North Dakota Legislative Session we will be working on a broad range of issues including free speech, criminal justice, reproductive freedom, immigrants rights, and LGBTQ rights.
North Dakota has made some efforts to address its growing prison population in recent years, passing reforms in 2017 and taking steps to reduce penalties for marijuana possession in 2019. And those are important first steps. But there’s more to be done.
Ultimately, the answer is up to North Dakota’s voters, policymakers, communities, and criminal justice advocates as they move forward with the urgent work of ending the country’s obsession with mass incarceration.