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...
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
Jodi Richter
Jodi Richter was sentenced to 15 years for her minor part in a drug conspiracy that involved more than 500 grams of methamphetamine distributed in North Dakota, Minnesota, and elsewhere. Her story—with its myriad threads of addiction and mental illness...Read More
Tracy Cowan
Despite a clean record and no evidence proving that she sold drugs, Tracy was sentenced to 20 to 40 years for her ex-boyfriend’s dealing operation. She was arrested before the passage of sentencing reforms in Michigan that would have reduced...Read More
Robert Furlong
Robert Furlong is serving 15 years in prison for growing marijuana – his first offense. Under the sentencing guidelines, Robert would have received about five years in prison, but the mandatory minimum sentencing laws left the judge with no option...Read More
Stephanie Troy: Making the Most of a Bad Sentence
UPDATE: Stephanie was released in the fall of 2018. She is working hard at her reentry, bonding with her children and trying to find some stability in her life. Stephanie’s story is a messy one, reflecting the chaotic life of...Read More