Wisconsin rarely grants compassionate release as aging, ailing prisoners stress systems
October 7, 2025 It’s hard to find hope in a terminal illness. But for Darnell Price, the spread of a cancerous tumor opened the door for a new life. It was a chance to spend his remaining days outside of prison. Two Wisconsin Department of Corrections doctors in 2023 projected Price would die within a…
Critics challenge new prison policy, punishing all inmates in a pod for violations by one
October 8, 2025 A few weeks after his 18th birthday, Jonathan Baake was charged with illegal possession of a firearm – given a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. He had a hard time adjusting to prison life and was transferred twice to higher security correctional centers. That has his mother on edge. She reports that…
Lawmakers to consider compassionate release measures for Hawaiʻi inmates
October 7, 2025 Hawaiʻi is the only state in the nation that does not have a compassionate release law, which allows inmates to be considered for release from prison for medical reasons. Instead of having a law in place, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation only has an agency policy that advocates say is…
FAMM Announces Maria Goellner As New Vice President of External Relations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 8, 2025 Media Contact: teamfamm@mrss.com WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today FAMM (formerly known as Families Against Mandatory Minimums) has announced that Maria Goellner has been appointed as Vice President of External Relations. In this role, Maria will advance FAMM’s national, nonpartisan mission to move America to a system of justice that incentivizes…
All-Network Email: Sentencing Commission Priorities – June 2025
Dear FAMMily, The 2025-2026 United States Sentencing Commission amendment cycle is upon us! On June 9, 2025, the Commission published its proposed priorities. This is the Commission’s way of receiving stakeholder input on the issues they plan to prioritize this amendment cycle. Many of these proposals will seem familiar to you because they were considered in…
FAMM President Shaneva D. McReynolds appointed to USSC Sentence Impact Advisory Group
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 12, 2025 Media Contact: teamfamm@mrss.com FAMM President Shaneva D. McReynolds appointed to USSC Sentence Impact Advisory Group The newly formed group will allow for stakeholder input as the Commission reviews and revises federal sentencing guidelines WASHINGTON, D.C. – FAMM is excited to announce that our president, Dr. Shaneva D. McReynolds, has…
Too Many Lockdowns: It’s Time to Push Back
“Being thrown out in the middle of the ocean on a raft that’s deflating. And underneath you is a school of sharks just waiting for you to float down to the bottom.” — Brian Rowe, formerly incarcerated, describing how it feels to be on prison lockdown Incarcerated people are confined to their cells during a…
FAMM Announces Shanna Rifkin As New General Counsel; Mary Price Transitions to Senior Counsel
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 1, 2025 Media Contact: teamfamm@mrss.com FAMM Announces Shanna Rifkin As New General Counsel; Mary Price Transitions to Senior Counsel WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today FAMM (formerly known as Families Against Mandatory Minimums) announced two exciting staff transitions on its leadership team. Starting today, Tuesday, July 1, Shanna Rifkin, who has served as…
The Sunshine State’s Justice Reform Hero
Since Denise Rock started the criminal justice reform group Florida Cares in August 2017, the organization has impacted reform and activism around the issue in the state in a remarkable way. Yet it got its start in the most ordinary of places. “Florida Cares came out of meeting people in the parking lots of prisons,”…
FAMM President Dr. Shaneva D. McReynolds Delivers Testimony to U.S. Sentencing Commission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 12, 2025 Media Contact: teamfamm@mrss.com WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Shaneva D. McReynolds, President of FAMM, delivered testimony today at the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Dr. McReynolds’ testimony is available here. FAMM’s public comment for Proposed Amendments on drug guidelines as part of the…