Press Release 4/28/06

Families Against Mandatory Minimums
Posted on Thursday, May 25, 2006

Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1991 to challenge inflexible and excessive penalties required by mandatory sentencing laws. FAMM promotes sentencing policies that give judges the discretion to distinguish between defendants and sentence them according to their role in the offense, seriousness of the offense and potential for rehabilitation. FAMM’s 35,000 members include prisoners and their families, attorneys, judges, criminal justice experts and concerned citizens. FAMM does not argue that crime should go unpunished - but the punishment must fit the crime.

About FAMM.org

The FAMM.org website has two primary objectives: to educate people about unjust mandatory sentences and to mobilize a powerful sentencing reform movement. With multimedia resources and personalized activism, FAMM.org harnesses the power of technology to promote flexible sentencing policies that fit the punishment to the crime.

FAMM strategy

As a leading advocate for sentencing justice, FAMM works to end mandatory sentencing laws by educating the public, lobbying federal and state lawmakers, building coalitions and promoting grassroots efforts. Local chapters take the FAMM message to their communities and to federal and state lawmakers. Read more about FAMM’s programs.

FAMM's goals

Restore judicial discretion so the punishment fits the crime. Judges - not lawmakers, prosecutors, or law enforcement officers - should determine appropriate sentences. Their training, experience and neutrality place judges in the best position to weigh the many factors that should affect a sentence.

Replace mandatory sentencing laws with flexible sentencing guidelines. Federal and many state sentencing guideline systems provide judges with a range of sentences for all offenses. Guidelines allow judges to consider all facts of the case, yet prevent wildly disparate sentences for similar offenses.

For more information about this organization please visit their website at www.famm.org

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