News & Media - FAMM

News & Media

Since forming in 1991, FAMM has developed a team of attorneys, advocates and researchers with extensive expertise in crafting and advancing state and federal legislative reforms; working with the U.S. Sentencing Commission; improving the executive clemency process; and navigating the complex traits of federal sentencing policy. We’ve also put together a large collection of deeply researched case profiles highlighting FAMM members who have been subjected to onerous prison sentences. FAMM staffers are available to answer questions regarding the politics and policy of sentencing reform, and our research team is available to walk journalists through prisoners’ cases.

Have a question, or need to reach out to one of FAMM’s expert staff members? Our media relations team is happy to help!

For FAMM’s work at the federal level, contact Tripp Laino at 202-999-4273.

For FAMM’s work at the state level, contact TJohn Norton at 202-999-4268.

If you have a general question for FAMM and are not a member of the media, contact Debi Campbell at 202-621-5041.

New to the Issues?

We encourage journalists who have never covered sentencing before—and any veterans looking to brush up—to check out our Sentencing 101 page. If you’d like to write about someone who’s serving an unjust sentence, you can check out our profiles page. To see what FAMM is doing to change sentencing policy at the state and federal levels, you can find our work here. To learn about current sentencing reform legislation in Congress, visit our U.S. Congress page.

Ready to become an expert in federal sentencing? Visit our briefing book on mandatory minimum sentences for congressional staff.

In addition to work for reform at the federal level, FAMM is currently working in the following four states. Click the state to learn about FAMM’s efforts there.

 

Recent Press Releases:

New Legislation Would Erase Crack-Powder Cocaine Disparity, Make FSA Retroactive, Reform Federal Gun Mandatory Minimums

Thursday, March 5, 2015

FAMM’s Stewart applauds proposals Media contact: Mike Riggs, mriggs@famm.org Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), a long-time champion of mandatory minimum sentencing reform, introduced three much-needed sentencing reform bills on Wednesday, earning applause from FAMM President and Founder Julie Stewart.   “The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 was an important first step in restoring sanity to our … Read More

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U.S. House and Senate Reintroduce an *Even Smarter* Smarter Sentencing Act

Thursday, February 12, 2015

FAMM applauds bipartisan effort to curb BOP costs and over-crowding, restore fairness to federal sentencing. A new and improved version of the Smarter Sentencing Act (S. 502/H.R. 920) was introduced today in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, with an even larger number of co-sponsors from both parties. The bipartisan Senate bill (S. … Read More

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Congressional Interest in Sentencing Reform is Bipartisan, Strong as Ever

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – FAMM President Julie Stewart today praised the introduction of the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2015 in the U.S. Senate (S. 353) and the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 706). This is a bipartisan, bicameral federal bill that would help reduce high federal prison costs and populations. The bill, introduced in the … Read More

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Clemency Project 2014: A Historically Unprecedented and Wholly Independent Volunteer Effort By the Nation’s Bar

Friday, January 16, 2015

Clemency Project 2014 is a working group composed of lawyers and advocates including the Federal  Public and Community Defenders, the American Civil Liberties Union, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the American Bar Association, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, as well as individuals active within those organizations. Washington, DC (January 16, 2015) – An … Read More

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FAMM Brief Urges Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to Protect Rights of Drug Lab Defendants Who Challenge Their Convictions

Thursday, January 8, 2015

MEDIA CONTACT: Barbara J. Dougan, FAMM’s Massachusetts Project Director, bdougan@famm.org BOSTON – Today, the Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in the case of Bridgeman v. District Attorney of Suffolk County. The case was brought by three people who pleaded guilty to drug charges, not knowing that former drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan was involved in testing the … Read More

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FAMM Praises Obama for Commuting Sentences of Barbara Scrivner, Others

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Sentencing reform still needed Media Contact: Mike Riggs, Communications Director, mriggs@famm.org WASHINGTON, D.C. – Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) commends President Obama for commuting (reducing) the federal prison sentences of eight people today, and for pardoning 12 others. Julie Stewart, president and founder of FAMM, issued the following statement in response to today’s commutations: “These … Read More

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