Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 12, 2025

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 2025 Amendment Cycle is posted here. Hearing details and livestream video are available here. Dr. McReynolds’ testimony begins here in the video.

Of the hearing and testimony, Dr. McReynolds released the following statement:

“At FAMM, we believe that families who experience extreme prison sentences should also be part of the conversation on sentencing. As the wife of someone sentenced to an extreme sentence due to the crack/cocaine disparity and who was later released thanks to retroactively applied guidelines, I want to help the Commission understand the impact of the guidelines on millions of family members just like me.”

“Extreme sentences harm families and incarcerated people alike, and erode our nation’s promise of fairness, justice, and rehabilitation. We must recognize that many people, like my husband Jeffery, are ordinary people who got caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Factors like upbringing, intent, and the possibility of rehabilitation should be considerations in sentencing. Our legal system must do more to include the full context of an individual’s life in sentencing guidelines.”

About FAMM

FAMM’s mission is to create a more fair and effective justice system that respects our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping our communities safe. This mission not only reduces unnecessary suffering for incarcerated people, but also for their family members who have to serve the sentence along with their incarcerated loved one. 

The organization is committed to nonpartisanship and embraces the value of racial, cultural, and political diversity in its advocacy. FAMM’s greatest asset has always been the stories of its members. By sharing the impact of unjust sentencing and prison policies on incarcerated individuals, their families, and their communities, FAMM has helped create urgency around the issue and made the problem feel real to policymakers who have to be moved to make meaningful change.

Among its many accomplishments, FAMM and its members have led the enactment of federal legislation to reform sentencing and prison policies, including the 1994 drug sentencing safety valve, the Fair Sentencing Act, the First Step Act of 2018, and 2024’s Federal Prison Oversight Act, as well as the repeal or reform of drug mandatory minimum sentences in multiple states, including Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, and Iowa. It has also led improvements to the federal sentencing guidelines, was a founding member of Clemency Project 2014, spearheaded a federal Compassionate Release Clearinghouse,and has led advocacy at the U.S. Supreme Court in major cases.

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