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Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparity

Take Action Alert: National Call-In Day Thursday, April 23

Dear Friends, On Thursday, April 23, thousands of people across the country will phone their members of Congress to call for an end to the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. We hope that you will mark your calendar and join us. Your calls will make an important difference. The National Call-In Day is part of Crack the Disparity National Month of Advocacy, a month-long coordinated push to eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. The current law: • overstates the relative danger of crack cocaine compared to powder cocaine; • contributes to the growth of our prison population, increasing the financial burden on taxpayers; • disproportionately affects African Americans; and • uses limited federal resources on low-level street dealers rather than on the major drug traffickers. Twenty-three years of a failed policy is long enough! It's time to end this unjust and disproportionate sentencing policy. To participate, mark your calendar for April 23, call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121, and ask to speak to your representatives in the Senate and House. Urge them to support and co-sponsor H.R. 265, the Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act in the House and legislation in the Senate that eliminates the 100 to 1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine. You should place three calls because you have one representative and two senators. Use this link (talking points and script) to help you with your calls to Congress: http://sentencingproject.org/AdvocacyMaterialDetails.aspx?AdvocacyMaterialID=117 - The Sentencing Project

Save the date! National FAMM's Call-In to Congress, April 23

Families Against Mandatory Minimums logo

 

Dear Friends --

Call-In Day button

On Thursday, April 23, thousands of people across the country will phone their members of Congress to call for an end to the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. We hope that you will mark your calendar and join us.  Your calls will make an important difference.

The National Call-In Day is part of "Crack the Disparity" National Month of Advocacy, a month-long coordinated push to eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.

The current law:
*   overstates the relative danger of crack cocaine to powder cocaine;

*   contributes to the growth of our prison population, increasing the financial burden on taxpayers;

*   disproportionately affects African Americans; and

*   uses limited federal resources on low-level street dealers rather than on the major drug traffickers.

Twenty-three years of a failed policy is long enough!  It's time to end this unjust and disproportionate sentencing policy.  To participate, mark your calendar for April 23. FAMM will send out contact information for your Congressional representative and two senators as well as talking points the day before the call-in.

Thank you --

Jennifer

Jennifer Seltzer Stitt

Federal Legislative Affairs Director
Sentences that Fit. Justice that Works.

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Press Release: Presidential Commutations Urged for Prisoners Serving Long Crack Cocaine Sentences

For Immediate Release: December 16, 2008 Contact: Jasmine L. Tyler at 202-294-8292 PRESIDENTIAL COMMUTATIONS URGED FOR PRISONERS SERVING LONG CRACK COCAINE SENTENCES WASHINGTON, DC- As the holiday season approaches, and President George Bush's term comes to a close, a broad coalition of 29 civil rights, religious, academic and justice organizations have asked the president today to commute excessive sentences for low-level crack cocaine offenses. "Scripture reminds us that justice in the courts is a means of healing to society and families," said Bishop Jane Allen Middleton from the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. "Yet the disparity on sentences currently being handed down between crack and powder cocaine has unfairly targeted African-Americans and the poor," she said. "While legislation is needed to equalize these sentences, granting clemency to some of those serving unusually long sentences will send a much needed signal that our criminal justice system can and should be a means of healing to society and reunifying families separated by excessive incarceration." Prior to taking office in 2001, President Bush signaled support for reforming the controversial sentencing disparity for cocaine offenses. In a CNN interview, he said the crack-powder disparity "ought to be addressed by making sure the powder-cocaine and the crack-cocaine penalties are the same." Under current law, defendants convicted with as little as five grams, the weight of two sugar packets, are subject to a federal mandatory minimum sentence of five years. Offenses involving the pharmacologically identical powder cocaine do not trigger a five year mandatory minimum until a defendant sells 500 grams of the substance, 100 times the quantity of crack cocaine. In 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission lowered the sentencing guideline range for crack cocaine offenses because the penalties were considered excessive. They also voted to apply the guideline reductions to people currently incarcerated for crack cocaine offenses but the sentence reductions were limited by the mandatory minimum sentences that only Congress can amend. According to today's letter to Bush, the president's "clemency power is the only opportunity to advance immediate reform. By granting commutations to people who have already served long sentences for low-level crack offenses, [the president can] bring deserving citizens home for the holidays." Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Margaret Love has noted that "the president's personal intervention in a case through the pardon power not only benefits a particular individual, it reassures the public that the legal system is capable of just and moral application." And, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has urged that the pardon process be "reinvigorated" to respond to "unwise and unjust" federal sentencing laws, stating that "A people confident in its laws and institutions should not be ashamed of mercy." Today's letter to the president was also joined by a petition urging clemency for crack cocaine offenses signed by over 700 people.

Crack the Disparity Newsletter Vol. 1, No. 3

President Bush: Please Commute Long Sentences for Crack Cocaine As the holiday season approaches, and President George Bush's term comes to a close, a broad coalition of 29 civil rights, religious, academic and justice organizations have asked the president today to commute excessive sentences for low-level crack cocaine offenses. "Scripture reminds us that justice in the courts is a means of healing to society and families," said Bishop Jane Allen Middleton from the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. "Yet, the disparity on sentences currently being handed down between crack and powder cocaine has unfairly targeted African-Americans and the poor," she said. "While legislation is needed to equalize these sentences, granting clemency to some of those serving unusually long sentences will send a much needed signal that our criminal justice system can and should be a means of healing to society and reunifying families separated by excessive incarceration." Click here to read more. Crack Sentencing Reform Makes Obama-Biden Transition's Priority List By Bruce Nicholson The Obama-Biden Transition has made elimination of the federal sentencing disparity for crack cocaine offense a key goal on its Agenda for Change in the 111th Congress. The Obama-Biden Transition Project, as it is formally known, will work to get the new administration up and running between now and the inauguration on January 20, 2009. The transition's website, www.change.gov, sets out an agenda divided into 22 issue areas. The Obama-Biden plan for change on crack sentencing is one of seven "Civil Rights" goals (there is no separate "criminal justice" issue area). The Obama-Biden transition reform goal is stated simply as follows: Eliminate Sentencing Disparities: Obama and Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated. National Day of Advocacy - April 2009 By Kara Gotsch With a new president and Congress to begin in January, and a renewed political optimism, the Crack the Disparity Coalition has outlined a strategy to finally eliminate the excessive mandatory minimum penalties for low-level crack cocaine offenses. That strategy includes you. Without broad national support for crack cocaine sentencing reform, success on Capitol Hill will again elude us. The 100 to 1 sentencing quantity disparity between powder cocaine and crack cocaine was created by Congress under the Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986. It has resulted in average sentences for crack cocaine offenses that are three years longer than for offenses involving powder cocaine. Sentences for crack cocaine are also nearly two years longer than for methamphetamine and four years longer than for heroin. Crack cocaine is the only drug that carries a mandatory prison sentence for a first-time possession offense. Student Activists Empowered by Lobbying, Advocacy On November 21, 2008, more than 200 students from across the United States descended on Capitol Hill to lobby Congress on repealing the 100 to 1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. The Lobby Day was the kickoff to the 2008 Students for Sensible Drug Policy 10th Anniversary International Conference, held November 21-23 at the University of Maryland in College Park. Students for Sensible Drug Policy is known for its advocacy on drug policies that directly impact young people and students, such as student drug testing and the law that denies federal financial aid to students with drug convictions. Lobbying for a change in policy that primarily impacts low-income African Americans was a welcome change for SSDP students. Save the Date: January 22-23, 2009: New Directions for New York: A Public Health & Safety Approach to Drug Policy, New York, NY April 27-28, 2009: Crack the Disparity Lobby Day, Washington, D.C. Media Attention A Fox News Three-Part Series on the case of Clarence Aaron, a former college student whose involvement in a 1993 cocaine deal got him three life sentences in federal prison. Washington Post Letter to the Editor Calling for President Bush to Use His Clemency Power on Individuals Serving Harsh Crack Cocaine Sentences. Maryland Daily Record Coverage on the Number of Individuals in the State that Have Received Sentence Reductions Since The USSC's 2007 Retroactive Adjustment ... And Look for an Opinion Piece on Commutations by Kemba Smith in USA Today Before the Close of the Year. The Crack the Disparity Coalition includes the American Bar Association, American Civil Liberties Union, Break the Chains, Drug Policy Alliance, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Open Society Policy Center, Restoring Dignity, Inc., Students for Sensible Drug Policy, The Sentencing Project, and United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.

Crack the Disparity Newsletter Vol. 1, No. 2

[Courtesy of the Crack the Disparity Coalition] Secure Fairness in Crack Cocaine Sentencing -- Join Lobby Day this Spring Plans are underway for the second national lobby day for crack cocaine sentencing reform in Washington, DC, hosted by the Crack the Disparity Coalition. An exact date has not yet been set but we invite advocates from around the country to attend the Capitol Hill event this spring. As a participant, you will speak with Members of Congress and their staff about the unjust sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and the need to eliminate it. Training and materials will be provided to you. Look for more details in the December issue of the Crack the Disparity Newsletter. Home for the Holidays By Karen Garrison Karen Garrison is the mother of twin sons sentenced to nearly two decades for a first-time nonviolent crack cocaine offense. Her son Lawrence will soon be released due to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent changes to the sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses. The dream will be a reality for one of my sons who will be home this December. It has been 10 years and Lawrence and Lamont's room has hardly been touched. I covered the beds with heavy plastic. Long ago I gave away their clothes and shoes to shelters and halfway houses, not only because of their weight loss, but clothing goes out of style in a period of ten years. I must now begin to prepare a place for one of my twins, never forgetting that one will remain behind unjust bars. I am buying sheets, towels, and gathering healthy recipes he will enjoy preparing. I will try to purchase new furniture and have already bought the paint for his room. Coming home to those same bunk beds would just make it harder on both of us. Those are the beds he shared with his twin brother Lamont. Click here to read more. Commute Crack Cocaine Sentences in Time for the Holidays By Jasmine Tyler This month the Crack the Disparity Coalition launched the "Home for the Holidays" campaign to rally support for individuals serving excessive penalties for crack cocaine offenses who have filed commutation requests with President George W. Bush. The President expressed concern for the crack cocaine sentencing disparity in the early days of his administration. The sentencing disparity "ought to be addressed by making sure the powder-cocaine and the crack-cocaine penalties are the same," he said in 2001. "I don't believe we ought to be discriminatory." Advocates are hoping to capitalize on these sympathies to expedite applications for crack cocaine cases and increase recommendations for clemency. The campaign is promoting support for clemency applicants seeking relief from the uniquely severe penalties for low-level crack cocaine offenses that subject defendants possessing as little as 5 grams of crack cocaine to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. A powder cocaine defendant must be convicted of selling 100 times that amount to trigger the same sentence. Since Congress has yet to act to alleviate this disparity, advocates' focus this fall is to ensure that those who are seeking clemency do not go unheard. Teen Profiles Crack Cocaine Reformer: Pamela Alexander - A Profile in Courage By Laura S., Cincinatti, OH This article was reprinted courtesy of TeenInk.com, a nonprofit, national teen magazine, book series, and website devoted entirely to teenage writing and art. On December 11, 2007, members of the United States Sentencing Commission voted unanimously to make a groundbreaking change in one of their policies. They decided that the disparity between sentences for crack cocaine crimes and those involving powder cocaine was exceedingly unjust and prejudiced. With crack users being predominantly black and powder cocaine users predominantly white, the Sentencing Commission judged the much harsher sentences for crack users to be racially biased at their core. The Commission therefore has allowed thousands currently imprisoned for crack cocaine violations to appeal their sentences before federal judges, in an effort to shorten these sentences where feasible. While this represents a major step toward racial equality and justice, one uncelebrated, independent woman put her career on the line for this same issue - seventeen years ago. Petition President Bush Join citizens concerned about the harsh mandatory minimum sentences for low-level crack cocaine offenses by telling President George Bush and Pardon Attorney Ronald Rodgers to expedite and give special consideration to commutation applicants serving excessive sentences for crack cocaine. Save the Date September 24-27, 2008: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 38th Annual Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C. September 26-September 28, 2008: Critical Resistance 10th Anniversary Celebration and International Conference and Strategy Session, Oakland, CA October 19-22, 2008: International Community Corrections Association 16th Annual International Research Conference, "Risk, Resilience and Reentry," St. Louis, MO Spring 2009: Crack the Disparity Lobby Day, Washington, D.C. Media Attention Daily Press Editorial on Equalization of Crack and Powder Cocaine Sun-Sentinel Coverage on Prison Term Reductions for Cocaine Cases Kansas City Star Coverage on Former Kansas City Royal Baseball Player Willie Mays Aikens The Crack the Disparity Coalition includes the American Bar Association, American Civil Liberties Union, Break the Chains, Drug Policy Alliance, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Open Society Policy Center, Restoring Dignity, Inc., Students for Sensible Drug Policy, The Sentencing Project, and United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.

The Sentencing Project: Crack the Disparity Newsletter Vol. 1, No. 1

Crack the Disparity Logo

CRACK THE DISPARITY NEWSLETTER

Volume 1, No. 1
Summer 2008
In This Issue
The Struggle Continues
Legislative Update
Grassroots Agenda
A Theological Basis for Ending the Sentencing Disparity
Save the Date
Media Momentum


Feature Story:


Baseball Legend Willie Mays Aikens Released Under Retroactivity Amendment

By Zerline Jennings

Aikens


Willie Mays Aikens, former first baseman for the Kansas City Royals, made baseball history when he became the first player to have a pair of two-homer games in the 1980 World Series. Years later he made another kind of history when a longstanding addiction to cocaine ended his baseball career and ultimately led to a nearly 21-year sentence for selling crack cocaine to an undercover officer. Finally, in 2008, he again made headlines when a federal judge reduced his lengthy prison term to 14 years as a result of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent adjustment to the crack cocaine sentencing guidelines. Aikens was released in June.

"They used my case as an example to show that crack sentencing was cruel and unusual punishment," said Aikens in an interview with WHNS-TV in South Carolina. "I'm glad that after spending 14 years in prison, something good came out of this."

Sentencing reform advocates utilized Aikens' story to illustrate the unjust sentencing and racial disparities between crack and powder cocaine. After being convicted of attempting to purchase cocaine in 1983, his addiction eventually led to his suspension from major league baseball. He returned to Kansas City, after playing ball in Mexico, but continued to battle his addiction, which was quickly ruining his personal life as it had done his baseball career.

Kansas City authorities were aware of Aikens' involvement with drugs. In December 1993, a female undercover officer established a friendship with Aikens and subsequently asked him to obtain crack cocaine for her on several occasions. On at least one occasion, the undercover officer specifically asked him to cook powder cocaine into crack cocaine.

Entrapment and Mandatory Minimums

With this evidence, the U.S. Attorney's office charged Aikens with multiple counts of trafficking crack cocaine. Because of harsher sentencing penalties for using and dealing crack, his sentence for selling 2.2 ounces of crack cocaine was treated as though equivalent to selling 15 pounds of powder cocaine.

Click here to read more.
Crack the Disparity Logo
  
Editor's Note:

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Crack the Disparity Coalition's quarterly e-newsletter. We unveil this publication on an important day, the 22nd anniversary of Len Bias' death - a young man at the apex of a promising basketball career, whose drug overdose fueled the passage of the harsh sentencing law this coalition seeks to change.
This newsletter is designed to maintain the momentum that is propelling reform by keeping advocates updated on news and events related to eliminating the crack cocaine disparity. This newsletter can also be accessed at www.crackthedisparity.com where additional advocacy resources and information can be found.
 
Crack Cocaine Reform - The Struggle Continues
Struggle By Nkechi Taifa, Esq.

In 1994, the U.S. Sentencing Commission issued a call for public comment on laws creating a differential in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine offenses. The federal law, passed after the cocaine-induced death of basketball star Len Bias, requires a mandatory minimum five year sentence for a first time offender's simple possession of five grams of crack cocaine. It takes trafficking in 100 times as much powder cocaine - 500 grams - to trigger the same five year sentence. This has come to be known as the 100:1 quantity disparity between crack and powder cocaine. Click here to read more.
Crack Cocaine Legislative Update
By Kara Gotsch

Since the judiciary subcommittees on crime in the U.S. House and Senate held hearings on crack cocaine sentencing reform in February, legislative momentum has slowed in Congress. Even with a total of seven reform bills pending, no committee has held a vote on the bills and none are currently planned. Now is the time to remind Congress that their constituents demand a fairer sentencing structure that eliminates the quantity disparity between crack and powder cocaine and limits the excessive penalties for low-level drug offenses. Public pressure is essential to garner Congress's support for reform and move legislation along. Click here to read more.
Grassroots Agenda: June, July, August
By Calli Schiller

As Congress prepares to adjourn for the July 4th and August recesses, now is an excellent time for you to plan grassroots activities centered in the legislators' home-districts. While some Members of Congress (MOC) use these recesses to vacation with their families, many legislators are working in their district offices. This presents an excellent opportunity for in-district meetings, town-hall meetings and site visits. Click here to read more.
A Theological Basis for Ending the Sentencing Disparity
FaithBy Bill Mefford

The Faith in Action Criminal Justice Reform Working Group, which I co-lead, is made up of faith organizations from across the religious and political spectrums. Groups came together to help achieve passage of the Second Chance Act -- a bill providing assistance for prisoners' reentry -- and we found a number of other issues on which we share values. Our goal is to bring crucial reforms to the criminal justice system and we have identified the current crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity as grossly unjust and in long overdue need of change.

With 2.3 million people currently incarcerated in the United States, and the numbers only climbing, communities are not safer and the flow of drugs into our communities has not been curbed. Long mandatory minimum sentences deny both judicial discretion as well as necessary treatment for those who suffer from addiction as the root cause of their criminal behavior. Click here to read more.
Save the Date
Media Attention
 

The Crack the Disparity Coalition includes the American Bar Association,
American Civil Liberties Union,
Break the Chains, Drug Policy Alliance,
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers,
Open Society Policy Center, Restoring Dignity, Inc.,
Students for Sensible Drug Policy,
The Sentencing Project, and
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.
 

Drug Policy Alliance: Crack the Disparity -- Call the U.S. Senate Now!

[Courtesy of Drug Policy Alliance] 

Imagine being able to reform one of the worst federal drug laws of all time. You can do it. The draconian crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity is on the ropes. We need you to provide the knock-out punch.

Today is a national call-in day on the issue. Please take a few minutes to call your two U.S. Senators and urge them to “eliminate the crack/powder disparity by supporting S. 1711, The Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act.” If you can’t call today, that’s OK. Call as soon as you can. Any time this week would be great. It's easy--our website will give you the phone numbers and tell you what to say.

Make a Call

Two weeks ago the Senate Crime and Drugs Subcommittee had historic hearings on the crack/powder issue. The House Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee is having hearings this week. The Drug Policy Alliance and almost a dozen other national groups are bringing in people from around the country to lobby key members of Congress tomorrow.

Support for reform is growing in both the House and Senate and among both Democrats and Republicans. We hope legislation reducing or eliminating the disparity will move within the next couple of weeks.

It’s not every day we have an opportunity to reduce government waste, improve public safety, promote fairness and restore some sanity to U.S. drug policy. So I hope you take a few minutes to make two phone calls.

Phone calls will make the biggest impact in this campaign. But if you can't call, you can look up the email addresses and fax numbers for your two U.S. Senators at http://www.senate.gov/ .

You can find fact sheets, talking points and articles about crack/powder reform here.

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance Network 

Senate to Hold Long-awaited Hearing on Federal Cocaine Sentencing Laws

[Courtesy of The Sentencing Project] Dear Friends: The Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing on "Federal Cocaine Sentencing Laws: Reforming the 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Disparity" on Tuesday, February 12 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building. "The Sentencing Project applauds the Committee for addressing this longstanding disparity," stated Marc Mauer, Executive Director of The Sentencing Project. "Reforming crack cocaine policy will help to remedy the unfairness and ineffectiveness of federal drug policy." Witnesses at the hearing will be: - U.S. Department of Justice designee - The Honorable Ricardo H. Hinojosa, Chair, U.S. Sentencing Commission, Washington, DC - Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, DC - The Honorable Reggie B. Walton, Criminal Law Committee, Federal Judicial Conference, Washington, DC - James Felman, Co-Chair, Sentencing Committee, Criminal Justice Section, American Bar Association In addition, Marc Mauer, has been invited by the Committee to submit written testimony, focusing on the public safety consequences of crack reform and impact on racial disparity. Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE), has taken a lead in reforming the crack cocaine disparity by introducing the Drug Sentencing Reform and Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2007 (S. 1711), which would eliminate the 100 to 1 quantity-based sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. The legislation would also focus federal law enforcement efforts on serious drug traffickers instead of the low-level offenders who are currently the target of most federal crack prosecutions. This hearing follows the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmation of judicial discretion to sentence below the guideline range based on the unfairness of the crack cocaine sentencing disparity, and the United States Sentencing Commission's vote to make retroactive its recent guideline amendment on crack cocaine offenses.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums: Hearings on crack, national call-in day for reform

Senate hearing on crack cocaine on Feb. 12 The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs scheduled a hearing for February 12 on federal cocaine sentencing laws titled “Reforming the 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Disparity". For over 21 years, the inequity between crack and powder cocaine sentences has been the subject of great debate. Now the Senate will take a first step toward addressing this inequity. Three bills have been introduced in the Senate and will likely be the subject of debate at the hearing. The hearing is open to the public. It will be held Tuesday, February 12 at 2:00 pm in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building. To read more about all of the sentencing bills FAMM is tracking, click here. National call-in day to Congress, Feb. 25 Eliminate the crack and powder cocaine disparity! Join thousands of advocates across the country in calling on Congress to eliminate the federal crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity on February 25. FAMM will send an ealert to the members on February 25 containing a link to talking points and contact information on your lawmakers. Look for an email on February 25 and check the FAMM website for updates. Also, ask your family and friends to join FAMM's email list so they can participate in the call-in day. Click here to tell a friend about FAMM.

Attend lobby day on Capitol Hill

[Courtesy of Families Against Mandatory Minimums] Please join Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) and partner organizations on February 26 in Washington, D.C. as we call for change on Capitol Hill! Ask Congress to support legislation eliminating the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. In the 21 years that mandatory sentences for crack have been in effect, tens of thousands have suffered unjust, disproportionate, and excessive sentences because of the sentencing disparity. It's time for change. If your loved one was sentenced for crack cocaine or you served time in prison for a crack cocaine offense, we encourage your participation. Please attend the Cracked Justice Lobby Day on February 26 and share your story and photographs with lawmakers to show the human face of excessive sentencing. While none of the bills we will advocate for is likely to affect people who have already been sentenced, your advocacy could positively change the lives of tens of thousands in the future. To learn more about the legislation FAMM is following, please click here. The Cracked Justice Lobby Day will start in D.C. at 8:30 a.m. with breakfast and a brief training (location to be determined). You will learn tips on how to lobby members of Congress and receive information on the members of Congress you will visit that day. FAMM members have unique stories to tell and we believe everybody should hear them. You will not be limited to visiting your own members of Congress, but will also join people from other states and help them lobby their senators and representatives. For example, you may be paired with a preacher from Kansas or an advocate from Texas. We will visit lawmakers or staff from the following targeted states: California; Illinois; Kansas; Maryland; Michigan; New York; Oklahoma; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Texas and Virginia. Don't worry if you are not from one of these states. We still want to see you here. If you or your family members live in the targeted states and would like to participate but cannot travel to D.C., we still need you! You can: - Participate in a National Call-In Day on February 25 (look for a FAMM ealert on February 25 with call-in information and talking points.) - Meet with your member of Congress or Congressional staff at a district office the week of February 18. Please rsvp for the lobby day by February 8. Space for the lobby day is very limited. If you are interested in participating or want more information on district visits, please call or email Jennifer Seltzer Stitt at (202) 822-6700 x15 or [email protected]. Sincerely yours, Jennifer Seltzer Stitt FAMM Federal legislative director