Press Releases

Contact:  202-822-6700  This morning, FAMM president, Julie Stewart, will testify at the U.S. Sentencing Commission in support of the Commission’s proposal to lower federal drug sentences by an average of 11 months.  Stewart points out that: FAMM strongly supports this amendment but it is a modest correction, not a major change in policy – people … Read More

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:  202-822-6700  Today, FAMM applauds the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s passage of the Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act (S. 1675). The bipartisan bill, a compromise negotiated by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn (R-TX), is anticipated to help alleviate overcrowding in federal prisons – now at 138 percent of their … Read More

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed the first major reconsideration of federal mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws since the Nixon Administration. The Committee voted, 13-5, in support of S. 1410, the Smarter Sentencing Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL). The Smarter Sentencing Act:  … Read More

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General James Cole, in prepared remarks to the New York State Bar Association, asked lawyers and prison officials to assist federal prisoners serving lengthy sentences for low-level, nonviolent drug offenses with requesting commutations (sentence reductions) from President Barack Obama. In particular, Cole emphasized the administration’s … Read More

It’s unanimous: U.S. Supreme Court overturns federal conviction and the 20-year mandatory minimum that went with it. Federal law calls for harsh mandatory minimum sentences for distributing drugs. These five- and ten-year sentences are imposed when a person is convicted of selling specific drug quantities. In some case, federal law requires courts to dramatically enhance … Read More

(Washington, DC) — On January 16, the U.S. Senate passed a new federal budget (H.R. 3547), which includes one million dollars of funding for the formation of the bipartisan, independent, nine-member Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections. President Obama is expected to sign the budget into law on Saturday. The Task Force was championed … Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, FAMM founder and president Julie Stewart issued the following statement calling on President Barack Obama to grant more commutations (sentence reductions) to federal prisoners, rather than merely issuing another the annual presidential pardons to Thanksgiving turkeys: “This administration has taken a bold stand against excessive mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders, … Read More