BOISE, Idaho – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Idaho yesterday finalized “Your Rights on the Inside: A Handbook for Incarcerated Idahoans.” The handbook, written as a graphic novel, includes information on medical care services, dietary requests, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and education. It also contains chapters on complaints, grievances, and general life on the inside for inmates. The ACLU published the handbook in collaboration with Massachusetts based writer and lawyer Katherine Fustich and Nicholas Showers-Glover, an artist currently incarcerated in Alaska.
“The goal was to provide easily accessible information without the ‘legalese’ most civil rights information contains,” says Dina Flores-Brewer, attorney and community intake manager at the ACLU of Idaho, and project manager for the handbook. “The graphic novel format was the brainchild of our former Legal Director Ritchie Eppink. It allowed us to present the information needed to help incarcerated people protect themselves and advocate for their rights without overwhelming them with a lot of confusing language.” The ACLU of Idaho receives hundreds of legal complaints from incarcerated Idahoans every year. Many of the topics covered in the handbook are centered on issues and experiences learned through those complaints.
“People incarcerated in Idaho describe deplorable conditions and potential rights violations ranging from not having a bed to sleep in, to having major medical problems ignored by jail and prison staff,” says Flores-Brewer.
“Your Rights on the Inside” is currently available for purchase in digital or print from Amazon. Incarcerated people can request a free copy from the ACLU of Idaho, or soon look for a copy in their prison law library.
According to a 2021 report by Prison Policy Initiative, Idaho “has an incarceration rate of 761 per 100,000 people (including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities), meaning that it locks up a higher percentage of its people than any democracy on earth.”
