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FAMM announces a new campaign in support of a Second Chances Agenda in Florida

The criminal justice organization calls for sentencing reform, compassionate release, clemency and second look laws

TALLAHASSEE – FAMM recently announced a new “Second Chances Agenda” campaign aimed at urging Florida policymakers to pass retroactive sentencing reform and second look legislation, increase the use of elderly and compassionate release, and expand executive clemency.

“For decades, Florida has sent too many people to prison for too long, and taxpayers have received nothing in return,” said Greg Newburn, FAMM’s director of policy for Florida. “Lawmakers should create opportunities that will allow people who’ve earned it a second chance at a free and productive life.”

FAMM’s Florida Second Chances Agenda campaign calls for the following:

1. Retroactive sentencing reform – Repeal mandatory minimum laws, make the reforms retroactive and allow Florida’s elected judges to hold offenders accountable using all of the relevant information.
2. “Second look” laws – People change, mature and rehabilitate. The law should reflect a belief in second chances, and allow review of long sentences to ensure they are – or remain – appropriate.
3. Elderly release and compassionate release – One out of four prisoners in Florida is elderly, and thousands more are chronically ill. Keeping these people incarcerated when they are not a threat to public safety is costly, unnecessary and counterproductive.
4. Executive clemency – Despite an average annual prison population above 90,000, the Clemency Board has commuted fewer than two sentences on average each year for the past 20 years, including six of the last ten. Commutations are necessary to mitigate injustice and provide second chances, and their use should be expanded considerably.

FAMM’s Second Chances Agenda campaign is calling for a series of reforms at both the state and federal levels. Find out more at FAMM.org/secondchances.

For nearly three decades, FAMM has united the voices of affected families, the formerly incarcerated, and a range of stakeholders and advocates to fight for a more fair and effective justice system. FAMM’s focus on ending a one-size-fits-all punishment structure has led to reforms to sentencing and prison policies at the state and federal level and is paving the way to programs that support rehabilitation for the 94% of all prisoners who will return to our neighborhoods one day.

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FAMM is a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. Founded in 1991, FAMM is helping transform America’s criminal justice system by uniting the voices of impacted families and individuals and elevating the issues all across the country.