Videos

Shaneva and Jeffery McReynolds had teen crushes but were separated when she moved. When they met again, he was serving a long sentence in prison. As for so many, their love story is intertwined with their advocacy—first to get him free, and now to fight for others still behind bars with extreme sentences.

Despite the challenges of being a working single parent, Sagan Soto Stanton has been keeping her family of five going since her husband’s arrest nine years ago for the manufacture and sale of crack cocaine. Because of the 18:1 disparity in the way crack and powder cocaine are sentenced, Terrance Stanton Sr.’s release date is 2039. If the EQUAL Act is passed, he will be eligible to come home right away and help keep his family strong. bit.ly/MakeItEqual

A short film about the need for a “second look” law in Virginia – and everywhere else. You’ll meet Sincere Allah and The Sistas in Prison Reform and watch their extraordinary journey from prison to freedom, from being powerless to becoming advocates for change.

In 2014, Ernest Boykin III was arrested for drug conspiracy. Six years later, he was released early because the First Step Act allowed him to file a motion for compassionate release during the pandemic. Boykin talks about a journey that has taken him from missing his children while incarcerated to graduating from the Georgetown PIVOT program, finding a job with a social impact marketing company, and reuniting with his family. He vows to continue to fight for the kind of reforms that allowed him to come home earlier.

Eric and Diane Cabrera kept their marriage going while Eric was behind bars for 11 years for drug conspiracy. Released in 2021, Eric talks about how he has changed and what he looks forward to. His wife, Diane, talks about how the families of FAMM helped her through hard times, as she raised their son on her own. Both are looking forward to their future together.

When Julie Stewart founded FAMM in 1991, she hoped to eliminate mandatory minimums in five years. Twenty-six years later, FAMM had helped passed many reforms but mandatory minimums continued. In 2017, she passed the leadership to current FAMM president, Kevin Ring. With FAMM celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, she shares the accomplishments that she’s most proud of and talks about popular perceptions in the 90’s of drug offenses, sentence lengths and people in prison.

During the pandemic, Gwen Levi was released from prison on home confinement. The 76-year-old cancer survivor served 16 years of a 24 year sentence for drug conspiracy. Ms. Levi was making the most of her home confinement, reuniting with her 94-year-old mother, loving siblings, and children and grandchildren. Now she sits behind bars again, because her case manager claims that she couldn’t find her while Ms. Levi was attending a computer class. UPDATE: Gwen was granted compassionate release, ending her sentence. Gwendolyn Levi has agreed to serve as a spokesperson for the group’s #KeepThemHome campaign, which is focused on securing clemency for the 4,000 people on federal home confinement.

The Biden administration will send 4,500 people on home confinement back to prison at the end of the pandemic. We cannot let this happen. Take action to #KeepThemHome bit.ly/KeepThemHome The Trump administration issued a memo inaccurately stating that the CARES Act requires people placed on expanded home confinement must return to prison after the pandemic. Many people have returned to their friends, children, spouses and other loved ones and have reintegrated back into society. They have become essential supports for their families and returning them to prison would rupture these family connections! The Bureau of Prisons have deemed these people “low-risk” and many of them have returned to work and resumed life outside of prison walls.

The United States lags behind the rest of the Western world when it comes to prison oversight. The lack of independent monitoring leaves conditions ripe for inhumane treatment of prisoners. We hear from formerly-incarcerated people about what they experienced, as well as Sgt. John Meekins, a correctional officer, Professor Michelle Deitch (University of Texas at Austin), and Kevin Ring, President of FAMM. Strong oversight would benefit both prisoners, prison staff, family members, and the American tax-payers.

Getting out of prison is a momentous day. Being told you may have to go back--despite successfully re-integrating with family, jobs and a place to live--is a nightmare. Kendrick Fulton, Miranda McLaurin and Robert Edwards—three returning citizens released on home confinement—share how they’re affected by the Trump Department of Justice’s memo from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which in its last days, incorrectly stated that people released to home confinement under the CARES Act must return to prison after the pandemic. None of the people released was told that they might have to return to prison, and the possibility is disruptive and stressful to all.

Laurette Philipsen spent 8 1/2 years at Lowell Correctional Institution in Marion County, Florida. She shares her experiences about what she saw.

Sandra Avery received a life sentence after she was convicted for drug conspiracy on her husband’s charges. Fortunately, clemency has righted this particular wrong, and Sandra, now sober and hopeful, has a second chance.

Quentin Burt was granted compassionate release after 30 years in federal prison. Everyone at FAMM is so happy for Quentin and Pam. We believe that everyone deserves a #secondchance.

The largest outbreaks of the coronavirus have been in correctional facilities. We hear the voices of prisoners locked behind bars while covid-19 spreads inside.

SUPPORT THE DC SECOND LOOK ACT. People change and our laws need to reflect that. Tell the DC City Council that you support second chances.

We've all heard about overly-harsh sentences, but what can be done? Second Look laws offer a way to re-evaluate a sentence and assess how much a person has changed, after ten years. Well-known former prisoners speak out on what they've done with their lives since their release: Shon Hopwood, Norman Brown, Matthew Charles and Stephanie Nodd.

At FAMM's 2019 conference in Tampa, Florida, more than 150 families came together to learn how to "empower, advocate, win" in the fight for criminal justice reform. Featured speakers: Kevin Ring, President of FAMM; Desmond Meade, President of Florida Restoration Rights Coalition; Rudy Valdez, director of "The Sentence," Cindy Shank, advocate and subject of "The Sentence," and Matthew Charles, advocate and returning citizen.

The shocking statistic about incarceration in America that lies hidden in daily life.

Once upon a time people affected by our broken criminal justice system kept their suffering inside. Mothers, kids, fathers, brothers and sisters—they didn’t tell anyone what was going on. But then they started speaking up. They started talking about their experiences in having a loved one in prison. They started telling the truth. They told their stories. And their stories made people see that reform was necessary, and change started happening. This is FAMM Storytelling. Tell your story and help us make reform a reality.

Kerry Weyant’s son, Erik, was sentenced in 2007 to a mandatory minimum 20 years in prison for firing warning shots in Polk County, Florida. Erik’s unjust sentence prompted Florida lawmakers to eliminate the mandatory minimum for aggravated assault with a gun, which was Erik’s charge —but the change was not retroactive. Following voter approval of Amendment 11, which removed Florida’s constitutional ban on retroactive sentencing reform, the Florida legislature has the opportunity to make this sentencing correction retroactive. Doing so would free Erik Weyant, who has now served 12 years, as well as many others who received excessive sentences.