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...
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...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
Lisa Andrews: Addiction, Abuse, and Now Prison
A very troubled life of addiction and abuse landed Lisa Andrews in prison for 12 years. It’s clear that she needed intervention and help—but is more than a decade in prison the answer? Read More
My Story: Kaylee G.
For most of Kaylee’s childhood, her father was incarcerated. She was one of the astounding 2.7 million children in the United States growing up with a parent in prison. Now she is an adult with a child of her own,...Read More