Sentencing: Maryland Passes Reform Measure for Drug Offenders
With a big push from reform organizations, the Maryland legislature has passed a measure that will help more than 1,000 drug offenders have a chance to get out early.
Mandatory Minimums
Editorial: Things Are Gradually Moving in the Right Direction
A bill to repeal some mandatory minimum sentences in Maryland by restoring parole has gotten further so far than any similar attempt to date. But winning even when our case is the clearest is still a struggle.
Pain Patients: Richard Paey Loses Appeal, Wheelchair-Bound Man to Remain in Prison
Richard Paey, the wheelchair-bound pain patient serving a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence as a drug dealer under Florida law, will remain in prison after losing an appeal this week. But a sympathetic appeals court suggested he seek clemency from the governor.
Sentencing: US Supreme Court Lets Stand Pot Dealer's 55-Year Mandatory Minimum Sentence
Observers had hoped the court would use the case to address the excesses of mandatory minimum sentences, but no such luck.
Editorial: A Grim Anniversary
Today marks a grim anniversary in US drug policy, the enactment 20 years ago of unjust federal mandatory minimum sentences.
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.