Arkansas
Lee v. Kelly
Ledell Lee has filed a motion in federal court asking the court reopen his case due to the breakdown in counsel over his decades of review, particularly the failure of counsel to bring evidence of his intellectual disability. Lee has presented new evidence showing that he has fetal alcohol syndrome disorder, significant brain damage, and intellectual disability. These facts were concealed by the line of counsel plagued with conflicts of interests, substance abuse, serious mental illness, and gross incompetence.
Status: Ongoing
View Case
Visit ACLU of Arkansas
All Cases
16 Arkansas Cases
Arkansas
Apr 2017
Capital Punishment
Ledell Lee v. State of Arkansas
Ledell Lee, an innocent man who had been on Arkansas death row since 1995, was executed on April 20, 2017, despite overwhelming evidence that he was intellectually disabled, evidence that had never been considered by any court due to two decades of repeated failures by the attorneys charged with protecting his life. In 2002, the Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities, noting that they “in the aggregate face a special risk of wrongful execution,” Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304.
Explore case
Arkansas
Apr 2017
Capital Punishment
Ledell Lee v. State of Arkansas
Ledell Lee, an innocent man who had been on Arkansas death row since 1995, was executed on April 20, 2017, despite overwhelming evidence that he was intellectually disabled, evidence that had never been considered by any court due to two decades of repeated failures by the attorneys charged with protecting his life. In 2002, the Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities, noting that they “in the aggregate face a special risk of wrongful execution,” Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2015
Religious Liberty
Holt v. Hobbs
Whether Arkansas prison officials violated a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of prisoners when they denied petitioner an exemption to grow a one-half inch beard in compliance with his religious beliefs.
Explore case
U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2015
Religious Liberty
Holt v. Hobbs
Whether Arkansas prison officials violated a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of prisoners when they denied petitioner an exemption to grow a one-half inch beard in compliance with his religious beliefs.
Arkansas
Sep 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Dawson v. H & H Electric, Inc.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arkansas, and co-counsel John Burnett have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Patricia Dawson against her former employer, H & H Electric, for firing her after she transitioned from male to female on the job.
Explore case
Arkansas
Sep 2014
LGBTQ Rights
Dawson v. H & H Electric, Inc.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Arkansas, and co-counsel John Burnett have filed a lawsuit on behalf of Patricia Dawson against her former employer, H & H Electric, for firing her after she transitioned from male to female on the job.
Arkansas
Apr 2011
LGBTQ Rights
Cole v. Arkansas
VICTORY! On April 7, 2011, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a ruling striking down Act 1, a law prohibiting adoption by unmarried couples.
Explore case
Arkansas
Apr 2011
LGBTQ Rights
Cole v. Arkansas
VICTORY! On April 7, 2011, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a ruling striking down Act 1, a law prohibiting adoption by unmarried couples.