Compassionate Release Archives - FAMM

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Free to Succeed: Vanessa Rojas

Monday, March 13, 2023
“I thought I was going to die with a needle in my arm. And that didn’t happen. If I came from where I came from and changed, anybody can. It doesn’t matter how bad the situation seems. People can change. Everybody has potential.” – Vanessa... Read More

Free to Succeed: Ernest Boykin

Tuesday, September 6, 2022
“2027” is written boldly on the back of Ernest Boykin’s phone as a reminder of the year he would have been released, had he not been granted compassionate release. “Every day not behind the fence, every day that I’m free, is a win for me,”... Read More

He Went Into Prison a Healthy Man. Now He Weighs 110 Lbs.

Thursday, May 19, 2022
My name is Mary Buffaloe and I’m 65 years old. I live in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and I’m a customer service representative for the University of Pennsylvania Heath System. My brother is Raymond Calliman, and he’s serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in Pennsylvania... Read More

Allissia’s Story: “I Don’t Deserve to Die”

Thursday, February 24, 2022
Too many people in Arizona are serving long prison terms that don’t make communities safer. There are plenty of people locked up who do not pose a risk to public safety yet languish in prison for decades, some of them seriously ill, like Allissia Henz.... Read More

“Both of Our Mothers Lost a Son That Day”

Wednesday, December 8, 2021
[UPDATE: Gary Kyles was granted a commutation from Gov. Wolf in July 2022. He is now free.] Gary Kyles has spent his entire adult life incarcerated. Arrested at 18, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole at 20. He is now 60, and has... Read More

Seriously Ill and Locked Up for Stealing 6 DVDs

Monday, November 15, 2021
Too many people in Florida are serving long prison terms that don’t make communities safer. There are plenty of people locked up like Stephan Stuckey, who do not pose a risk to public safety yet languish in prison for decades, some of them seriously ill.... Read More

The Case for Compassionate Release as a Second Look

Wednesday, September 15, 2021
The compassionate release reform in the First Step Act is being used by some federal judges as a second look authority. The stories here of Jamal, Adam, Lisa, and Devon show why this mechanism makes sense and should be used more often.   Read More

Keep Them Home: Cheryl’s Story

Wednesday, August 18, 2021
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 no fault of their own. A memo issued in the final days of the Trump administration threatens to send around... Read More