Diane’s Story: I Moved 180 Degrees on Compassion
Diane has been a part of the FAMMily for years now. She is a tireless advocate for her husband, and she is a source of...
Compassionate Release Clearinghouse: Damiene Lewis
On April 24, 2020, Damiene Lewis was granted compassionate release and sent home. “That’s a huge blessing,” he says now, from his mother’s home in...
Jomari DeLeon: Pressured Into a Terrible Decision
Jomari DeLeon made two drug sales over 24 hours, making less than $200. Kingpin? Hardly. Yet this first-time offender was sentenced to 15 years. Even...
Chris Young: “Barely on the Totem Pole” and Life in Prison
The judge at Chris Young’s trial described his life sentence as “way out of whack.” The absurdity of his punishment is matched, though, by the...
Barbra Scrivner
Barbra was addicted to meth as early as high school, and later, when she was struggling to support her daughter, her incarcerated husband encouraged her to sell meth to his friends. Although she claims she ended her ties with the...Read More
Sherman Chester
Sherman received a life-without-parole sentence when he was 27 years old for his involvement in a drug conspiracy. Because of his two prior drug possession convictions and the federal three-strikes mandatory sentencing law, Sherman’s judge couldn’t hand down a sentence...Read More
Alton Mills
Alton was 25 years old when he received a mandatory life-without-parole sentence for conspiracy to traffic crack and powder cocaine, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, and use of a telephone to commit a drug crime. President Obama commuted Alton’s...Read More
Erik Weyant
Threatened in a parking lot by a group of men and fearing a beating or even worse, Erik pulled out his legal handgun and fired shots into the air. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated assault...Read More
My Story: Simeon F.
Paul knows he made a mistake, but he never dreamed his small amounts of marijuana would ever lead to such a harsh sentence. UPDATE: Simeon’s son Paul was released to the halfway house on February 7, 2018. Read More
Sara Moore: “A Great Little Kid”
Sara was so far into her drug addiction that nothing mattered. Not friends, family, or work. She sold drugs out of her apartment and was arrested, and because she lived in a school zone, her sentence was much greater than...Read More
Robyn Hamilton
Robyn Hamilton used drugs and had “bad thinking,” in her words, and she was caught up in a drug conspiracy that netted her a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. The judge in her trial did not want to sentence her...Read More
Dejarion Echols
Dejarion received a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of crack cocaine and an additional 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking crime....Read More
Jeffrey Woods: Sober and Stuck in Prison
When police discovered drugs in his car and arrested him, Jeff finally found the strength to clean up his act and get sober while he was out on bond. Sentenced to nearly six years, Jeff is working hard in prison...Read More