FAMM has resources and contacts to assist the media with reporting on mandatory minimum sentences and their effects on the country. Media inquiries should be directed to media@famm.org.
(The Windsor Star – Ontario, Canada) Even as Americans declare mandatory minimum sentencing the new Jim Crow laws, Ottawa continues to defend the practice of tying a judge’s hands. A new report from a blueribbon group of senior legal stakeholders says that, after the U.S., Canada has created the most robust mandatory sentencing regime in the… Read more »
GAINESVILLE, FLA. – FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums) Florida Project Director Greg Newburn today applauded a bill aimed in part at correcting the unintended consequences of Florida’s “10-20-Life” gun sentencing law. HB 89, filed by Representative Neil Combee (R, Polk City), is designed to restore the rights of Floridians to protect the “Defense of Life,… Read more »
(FOX News) — A grassroots effort to roll back mandatory prison sentences — based on such conservative principles as less government and personal responsibility — appears to be gaining momentum by winning changes in several states and following a similar trend in Washington. The effort is being led in part by the Texas Public Policy… Read more »
(Chicago Tribune) — When Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for mandatory minimum prison sentences in response to the recent shooting of 13 people on Chicago’s South Side, he was speaking for everyone whose hearts are broken at the city’s relentless gun violence. The problem is that our hearts tend to be bad policymakers. The evidence against Emanuel’s… Read more »
(Miami Herald) A bill filed last week by a Polk County lawmaker is intended to address what he called “the negative, unintended consequences” of Florida’s 10-20-Life sentencing law by granting immunity to people who fire warning shots to protect themselves and others. It’s the second time that Rep. Neil Combee, R-Polk City, has filed the… Read more »
(Newsmax) It’s not just liberal Democrats trying to get rid of mandatory sentencing laws – conservatives, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and others have joined the fight. Paul has co-sponsored the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013 with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in an effort to ease crowded prisons. The law would allow judges to consider defendants… Read more »
(Tampa Bay Times Column by John Romano) Meet Orville Wollard, hardened criminal. A human resources specialist at Sea World, Wollard was having trouble with his teenage daughter’s boyfriend a few years back. The boyfriend had previously punched a hole in a wall and was now refusing to leave Wollard’s home. Wollard got his gun and… Read more »
