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...
An Unimaginable Sentence
When Darlene Wells and Jesse Dunaway met, it was “empathy at first sight.” She was working as a nurse at the institution where Jesse is a prisoner, and he was working in the staff dining hall. “You get to see...Read More
Judy’s Story: So Many Mothers Missing Their Sons
My name is Judy McCarroll. My son’s name is Lawrence McCarroll. We were both sent to prison for drug offenses in 1995. I was sentenced to 27 years, and Lawrence was sentenced to 33. For both of us, this was...Read More
La historia de Claire: La Defensa Empieza Pequeña, Luego Florece
Me llamo Claire Tate. Soy la vicepresidente de una organización sin fines lucrativos de justicia criminal en Arizona llamada S.T.A.R.T. Project (Striving to Achieve Reform Together — Luchando Por Alcanzar la Reforma Juntos), uno de los socios de FAMM. Estamos...Read More
In the Eyes of the Law, First-time Offender Is a Trafficker
William Wilder is no kingpin. In fact, he did not even sell drugs. In 2018, he bought 14.3 grams of methamphetamine from a confidential informant. And now he’s in prison for a first-degree felony for trafficking. There is a very,...Read More
Compassionate Release Clearinghouse: Margarita Zamora
“I had a rough childhood,” says Margarita Zamora. “My father never wanted nothing to do with me. When he found out my mom was pregnant with me, he left her because he was a married man. My mom was always...Read More
Compassionate Release Clearinghouse: Lea Anne Blystone
Lea Anne Blystone was sentenced to seven years in federal prison. She wasn’t sentenced to die. But when COVID hit her prison, her medical conditions made her especially vulnerable to the potentially fatal disease. Here, she describes her journey from...Read More
Gerald Tarboro: A Story of Second Chances
My story is about two second chances. The first is mine – I got one. I spent 11 years in prison, and I was released a little early because of the First Step Act. The other one I want to...Read More
Compassionate Release Clearinghouse: Ernest Boykin
Ernest Boykin was 41, not halfway through a 15-year sentence in federal prison, and COVID had been hitting prisons hard for months. He had underlying medical conditions that put him at high risk if he contracted the disease, and on...Read More
Jomari DeLeon: Bajo presión, eligió una decisión terrible
Jomari DeLeon hizo dos ventas de drogas durante el curso de 24 horas, ganando menos que $200. ¿Una reina de droga? De ninguna forma. No obstante, siendo su primer delito fue condenada a 15 años. Ni siquiera el juez quería...Read More