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Opponents of Equal Opportunity Seek To Withdraw Their Own Ballot Measure (04/08/2008)
NEW YORK - In a significant blow to a national campaign against equal opportunity in America, backers of a proposed amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution that would end equal access and opportunity programs in the state have asked the state supreme court to withdraw the measure from consideration. The move comes after supporters of the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative - spearheaded by Ward Connerly's American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) as part of a national crusade against affirmative action - failed to collect the signatures needed to get the proposal on this November's ballot. In conceding defeat, Connerly characterized the ACRI's efforts in Oklahoma as a "miscalculation."

ACLU SUES TO PROTECT EQUAL OPPORTUNITY (03/07/2008)
Oklahoma voters filed a protest on March 7, 2008 before the state Supreme Court challenging irregularities and questionable practices in the collection of signatures by the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative. The initiative is one of a series of ballot measures that California businessman Ward Connerly and his organization known as the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) have spearheaded across the country.

ACLU Says Charges Against Southern Baptist Minister Accused of Soliciting Sex with Another Man Should be Dismissed (02/01/2006)
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging an Oklahoma court to dismiss charges against a Southern Baptist minister who was arrested for soliciting private sex with another male.

Oklahomans Are Being Denied the Right to Vote Because of Misinformation, ACLU Charges (08/17/2005)
OKLAHOMA CITY-- A preview released today of a recent survey conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, in connection with the national Right to Vote Campaign, reveals that many Oklahoma counties do not know the state law on felony disfranchisement and are spreading bad information to eligible voters.

ACLU of Oklahoma Calls on Governor to Follow Parole Board's Recommendation and Spare Life of Mexican National (05/12/2004)
OKLAHOMA CITY-The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma was joined by a coalition of civil rights groups today in calling upon Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to spare the life of Osvaldo Torres, a Mexican National scheduled to be executed on May 18. The groups held a rally on the steps of the state capitol in an effort to convince the governor to commute Torres' sentence to life imprisonment, following a recent recommendation for clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

ACLU Says Oklahoma Officials Should Abandon Efforts to Execute Juvenile Offender (04/03/2003)
WASHINGTON--With the fate of Oklahoma death row inmate Scott Hain hanging in the balance, the American Civil Liberties Union today calls on Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to consider emerging public consensus in his state and around the nation that opposes the execution of juvenile offenders and grant a 30-day stay in order to give the Pardons and Parole Board additional time to consider Hain's clemency petition.

With Oklahoma State Justice System in Crisis, State Poised to Take National Lead in Executions From Texas (12/04/2001)
WASHINGTON - We today call on Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating to impose a moratorium on executions as his state's death penalty system finds itself in uncharted waters with more and more cases involving false testimony presented by former Oklahoma City Forensic Chemist Joyce Gilchrist coming under the scrutiny of investigators and a grand jury. 

Tecumseh, Oklahoma High School Senior is Among 12 Winners of ACLU College Scholarship for Youth Activism (05/23/2001)
OKLAHOMA CITY - - The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma today announced that Lindsay Earls of Tecumseh High School is one of 12 seniors nationwide to be awarded a $4,000 college scholarship in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the struggle to defend civil liberties. hallenge to Tecumseh's unconstitutional drug-testing policy, Ms. Earls withstood blatant hostility and humiliation in her small, highly conservative rural community simply for standing up for what she believed.

More Tainted Testimony from Oklahoma Forensics Lab (05/08/2001)
McALESTER, OK-- An investigation into improper testimony from Oklahoma City police chemist Joyce Gilchrist has provided more evidence that Oklahoma's criminal justice system is broken.

OK Lawmaker Proposes Year-Long Moratorium on Capital Punishment (01/17/2001)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK--Renewed enthusiasm over finding an alternative to capital punishment has prompted an Oklahoma lawmaker to introduce a bill seeking a year-long ban on capital punishment, according to the state's Government Information Tracking Service.

Bias and Stereotyping Sent Mentally Impaired Lesbian to Death Row, ACLU Tells OK Clemency Board (12/15/2000)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Citing a "stunning combination" of concerns about bias and injustice, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged clemency for a severely mentally impaired African-American lesbian who is scheduled to be executed on Jan. 11.

Groups Call for Halt to Execution (12/04/2000)
Oklahoma City, OK -- The Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union joined several other groups today in calling on Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating to grant clemency to Wanda Jean Allen, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force reported. Allen is scheduled to to be executed on January 11, 2000.

ACLU of Oklahoma Files Federal Lawsuit on Behalf of Student Accused of "Hexing" a Teacher (10/26/2000)
TULSA, OK--In a case reminiscent of the Salem Witch trials, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma today filed a federal lawsuit charging that school officials violated 15-year-old Brandi Blackbear's rights when they accused her of casting a hex that resulted in a teacher's illness.

3-00 New Development in Oklahoma Racial Profiling Case Opens Door to Systemic Changes, ACLU Says (08/23/2000)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- Ruling in a racial profiling case against state police, a federal judge has granted a request by the American Civil Liberties Union to add the NAACP and its members to the lawsuit, which may clear the way for systemic changes should the ACLU prevail at trial.

ACLU Brings First Federal Challenge to Drug Testing of Students in Academic Courses (08/18/1999)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of two high school juniors who are fighting a policy requiring them to take a urine test for certain academic courses.