The ACLU of Southern California recently released its 2011 Annual Report. Below is a welcome letter from ACLU/SC Executive Director Hector Villagra.

Novelist Zora Neale Hurston wrote, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”  One of this year’s more prominent questions appeared on the cover of TIME magazine:  Is the Constitution still relevant?  You don’t need to consult an expert to answer this question; the people we advocated for this past year can tell you how much constitutional rights still do matter.

There’s Jane Doe, a 16-year-old startled by a tap on the shoulder during an advanced placement exam.  An administrator wanted to let her know she had not paid $86 fee for the exam -- a requirement for completion of the course.  And her name was written on the chalkboard for weeks because her family could not afford required Spanish workbooks.  We upheld her right to a free education, so that education remains a right for all, not a commodity for sale.

There’s Robert Rosebrock, a 68-year-old Army veteran who, while protesting the misuse of the Veterans Administration’s West Los Angeles campus, was cited and arrested when he hung the U.S. flag upside down to express his outrage at the administration’s failure to provide military veterans with the housing and care to which they are entitled.  We upheld his right to free speech to prevent the government from discriminating against those who disagree with it.     

There’s Sharail Reed, a 13-year-old dreaming of becoming the first in her family to attend college.  She found herself enrolled in a U.S. history class without a permanent teacher, taught by a string of substitute teachers with no lesson plan, and still learning about the Articles of Confederation midway through the school year.  We upheld her right to an equal education by preventing state budget cuts from being disproportionately felt by low-income students of color. 

There’s Jose Antonio Franco, a 30-year old immigration detainee with cognitive disabilities who languished in detention for five years because he is incompetent to represent himself and the government refused to get him legal help.  We upheld his right to due process by requiring the federal government to find him a lawyer to ensure that he receives a fair hearing.   

There’s Manuel Vasquez, a 20-year-old working two jobs, seven days a week to support his family.  Law enforcement subjected him to arrest for walking down the street at night.  We upheld his right to due process, preventing the government from binding individuals to a gang injunction without providing a hearing and proving their gang involvement.  

Try telling these individuals, and countless others like them, that constitutional rights have no meaning in their lives.  But these successes don’t just show the continuing significance of the Constitution.  They remind us that our rights matter only if we remain committed to securing them. 

So join us not only in celebrating our rights, but in doing the hard work of converting them into reality.  Join us in finishing the work we’ve started this year.  Join us in ensuring that immigrant workers receive a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.  Join us in preventing state budget cuts from decimating education, health care, and social services.  Join us in ensuring that schools protect students from unlawful harassment and bullying.  Join us in preventing immigration enforcement from encouraging racial profiling and undermining public safety.  Join us in ensuring the federal government provides for its homeless veterans.  Join us in ending the death penalty.

Join us in promoting liberty, equality, and justice for all.  

Hector O. Villagra
Executive Director
ACLU of Southern California

James Clark, right, live tweeted the protests around Troy Davis' execution from Atlanta and Jackson, Georgia

Troy Davis was executed by the state of Georgia last night at 11:08 PM, despite a worldwide movement over 1 million strong that drew attention to the glaring doubts of his guilt. With no physical evidence and a host of witness recantations, all indications are that the state of Georgia killed an innocent man.
Outside the death row facility in Jackson, Georgia, I joined Troy's friends, family, and supporters in vigil. About 200 people arrived early enough to be allowed on the prison grounds in the highly controlled roped-off area reserved for execution opponents. Hundreds, maybe thousands more people were looking on from across the street. After visiting with Troy for the final time, his family attended a service at Towaliga County Line Baptist Church across the street before joining the protestors on the prison grounds.
Throughout the day of Troy's execution, periods of high energy and excitement alternated with long stretches of waiting. Prayer was continuous, as various clergy and other people of faith struggled with the difficulty of waiting for an execution while hoping for a reprieve. With each successive denial of Troy's final last-ditch appeal from the Superior Court and the Georgia Supreme Court, the mood grew somber and fearful.
At around 7 p.m., the crowd latched onto what turned out to be a false report of a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court. The entire crowd suddenly burst with joy and celebration. People jumped in the air and fell on their knees and prayed and hugged one another. Others had confused looks, made confirmation phone calls, and had to explain that this was not a stay of execution. The Court reviewed the appeal but took no action, delaying the execution for only a few hours. The Court finally did deny the appeal after 10:00 p.m. About an hour later, Troy Davis was dead.
Amidst so much doubt, there is only one certainty: the world is watching.
The Twitter hashtags #TooMuchDoubt and #TroyDavis have exploded as people around the world watched Georgia take the life of an innocent man. Protests were sparked around the country and the world, including an impromptu protest of hundreds at the United States Supreme Court while the Court deliberated Troy's appeal. Over 1 million people signed petitions for Troy before he was executed, and millions more watched in shock as the travesty of justice unfolded.
We must ensure that Troy Davis did not die for nothing. Millions of people have now seen the danger, dysfunction, and catastrophic injustice of America's death penalty.
I tweeted what I saw and experienced in Atlanta and Jackson from @ACLU and my main point was this: The only way to avoid executing the innocent is end the #deathpenalty. #TroyDavis.
That clear statement of fact was retweeted more than one hundred times. And the hashtag "#RIPTroyDavis" is trending not just in Atlanta, but worldwide. So while the movement to save Troy's life ended late last night, the movement to end the death penalty is stronger than ever. We must turn our anger and anguish into action.
Join the fight to protect the innocent and end the death penalty in California, or wherever you live.