A Racist Disparity, the EQUAL Act, and One Man’s Redemption
The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the disparity in sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses from 100:1 to 18:1. But true justice...
Home Confinement, the CARES Act, and the OLC Memo: Keep Them Home!
At this moment, thousands of people safely completing their sentences at home are living in fear that they’ll be sent back to federal prison through...
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...
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...
Nicole Walker: Her Sobriety Didn’t Matter at Sentencing
Nicole was an addict who got clean, turned her life around, and was a productive member of society. But the judge was unable to consider any of this when sentencing her to a mandatory 10 years in prison. UPDATE: Nicole...Read More
Rufus Rochell: A Gentleman and a Gentle Man
Despite his 35-year sentence for a drug crime, Rufus Rochell remains upbeat, kind, and forward-looking. For more than three decades behind bars, he’s immersed himself in service to others—a kind of remarkable self-rehabilitation. UPDATE: Rufus was released after more than...Read More
Yolanda Flournah-Perkins
In 2004, two semesters before she was set to graduate from the University of Central Florida with a degree in criminal justice, then-23-year-old Yolanda Perkins was sentenced to 37 months in prison for possession of stolen mail, a white-collar offense....Read More
Kenneth “Graham” Stanley
This first-time offender spiraled into selling drugs — “the worst decision I’ve ever made” — after his addiction took fierce hold and wouldn’t let go. The judge at his trial said the long mandatory sentence was “quite harsh,” but he...Read More
David Lee Sanchez
David was only 14 when he first started selling marijuana to support his own habit. At 18, he and his uncle were arrested for dealing, and David’s uncle blamed David for everything. He received the mandatory 18 years and nine...Read More
Marcus Boyd
Marcus received a 169-month sentence for distribution and possession with intent to distribute 37.4 grams of crack, even though only 5.6 grams were attributed to him at the time of his arrest. He was released in 2009 due to the crack sentencing...Read More
David Brian Veatch
When his wife fell down a flight of stairs and couldn’t return to work, David became involved in a coworker’s marijuana conspiracy to make ends meet. When the coworker was arrested, law enforcement held David accountable for the entire weight of...Read More
Patrick Ryan
Over the course of decades of battling addiction, Patrick served terms in prison for burglary, escape, and DUI offenses. One drunken night he pawned a firearm as a felon, and although he attempted to rectify his mistake upon sobering up,...Read More
Angela & Kimberly Bush
After selling drugs to support their addictions, Angela and Kimberly were sentenced to 15 1/2 years and 19 1/2 years, respectively, based on minimum guideline sentences. In 2012, Angela’s sentence was reduced from 188 months (15 ½ years) to 150 months...Read More