Editorial: A Grim Anniversary
Today marks a grim anniversary in US drug policy, the enactment 20 years ago of unjust federal mandatory minimum sentences.
Mandatory Minimums
Editorial: Call It What You Want
Each day that passes, Louisiana's Heroin Lifers languish behind bars, unjustly denied their freedom.
Web Scan: Mark Fiore, Tony Papa, Dean Kuipers
US of Incarceration Animation, Tony Papa Knocks DA Report, Dean Kuipers on Tommy Chong
Sentencing: Federal Judges More Likely to Acquit Than Juries
A new study of the federal courts finds judges less likely to convict than juries, and the author attributes it to the federal judiciary's discomfort with harsh sentencing guidelines.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums 15th Anniversary
September 21, 2006
Sphinx Club
1315 K St. NW, Washington, DC
6:00 reception
7:00 dinner and program
Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation invites you to join in commemorating the 15th anniversary of FAMM's sentencing advocacy in Washington, DC on September 21.
Congressional Staff Briefing (Senate): Reforming Crack Cocaine Sentencing
On May 15, the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) updated its 2002 Report to Congress on Federal Cocaine Sentencing. The USSC report once again finds that there is no rationale for the sentencing differences between the two forms of the drug. Under current law, possessing or selling 5 grams of crack cocaine results in the same five-year mandatory minimum sentence as selling 500 grams of powder cocaine. The law harshly punishes low-level offenders, and has had a disparate impact on African-American and low-income communities. Join us in a frank discussion on avenues for reform of this unjust law.
Congressional Staff Briefing (House): Reforming Crack Cocaine Sentencing
On May 15, the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) updated its 2002 Report to Congress on Federal Cocaine Sentencing. The USSC report once again finds that there is no rationale for the sentencing differences between the two forms of the drug. Under current law, possessing or selling 5 grams of crack cocaine results in the same five-year mandatory minimum sentence as selling 500 grams of powder cocaine. The law harshly punishes low-level offenders, and has had a disparate impact on African-American and low-income communities. Join us in a frank discussion on avenues for reform of this unjust law.
Maryland FAMM Gathering
Join FAMM at Allen Pond Park in Bowie, MD for a gathering to honor the Maryland legislators and volunteers who worked diligently on the Maryland sentencing reform bill (HB 992 and S. 624).
There will be music and refreshments. Awards will be presented at noon.
Rethinking Federal Sentencing Policy
Congressional Black Caucus Justice and Civil Rights Taskforce and Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School presents Rethinking Federal Sentencing Policy: 25th Annive