FAMM Annual Report 2008
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Transcript of FAMM Annual Report 2008
Sentences thatfit.
Justice that works.
families against mandatory minimums
annual report 2008
letter from the president
“I had a 27-year sentence under thecrack law; however because of [FAMM’s]hard work, I will be going home
in March 2009 instead of 2014.”— Maggie L. Turpin, served 18 years of a 27-year sentence
May you live in interesting times. That is
the famous and subtle curse attributed
to Confucius, and that is how I will
look back upon 2008. It was a year of great
turmoil, but also of hope. The year was marked
by a highly charged presidential campaign,
replete with partisan bickering; the beginnings of
a financial meltdown that saw major banks lose
their solvency and ordinary citizens lose their
homes; and the continued sacrifice of brave
Americans waging
wars in two distant
countries. For the
first time I can
remember, the
world’s macro-
events touched
FAMM directly as
one of the biggest
frauds on Wall
Street forced one of
our largest financial
supporters to fold.
The blow to
FAMM’s budget
was as severe as it
was unpredictable.
But the 2008 year
was not without
hope. The
American people exercised their freedom to vote
for a history-making candidate who promised a
fresh start, something most Americans,
regardless of political persuasion, seemed to
want. And you couldn’t help but sense that all
Americans rightly felt pride in how far our
country had come in the quest for greater equality.
FAMM found hope, too. In a year where most
bills got caught up in the political ringer, FAMM
worked with members of both parties to promote
legislation that recognizes that “lock ‘em up and
throw away the key” might be a good slogan, but it
is dreadful social policy. We continued to advance
smart sentencing reforms across several states,
most notably, with an aggressive new campaign in
Massachusetts to eliminate all drug-related
mandatory minimums. And FAMM’s financial
loss, while painful, came at a time when FAMM’s
reliance on new media allowed us to get our
message to more people than ever before.
That FAMM was able to survive – indeed, thrive –
in a year filled with such turmoil is a source of
pride for me and a measure of how far the
organization has come. You do not get the true
measure of a person or a group during the good
times; it is how they respond during moments of
adversity that reveal true character. I have always
believed that FAMM’s character reflects the
strength and courage of our members,
individuals whose lives were indelibly altered by
life’s sharp edges.
To those of you who support FAMM with your
generous contributions of money or time, please
know how much we appreciate you. We recognize
that we could not make the impact we do for our
shared cause of sentencing justice without your
steadfast support. Thanks for being there – both
in good times and in interesting times.
Julie Stewart
President
“There is a point beyondwhich the lessons that
could be learned and thepunishment that
could be extractedare well past – theyare lost. And beyond thatpoint it makes no sense towarehouse those humans.”
– testimony of former prisoner
Michael Short
Program Expenses 2008Total program expenses:
$1,258,213
2008 financialstatement
liabilities and net assetsCURRENT LIABILITIESAccounts payable $42,920Accrued expenses 118Pension payable 3,389Accrued vacation payable 11,047Accrued payroll and payroll taxes 554
Total Current Liabilities 58,028
NET ASSETSUnrestricted net assets 442,638Temporarily restricted net assets 511,250
Total Net Assets 953,888
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS $1,011,916
Expenses 2008Total expenses:$1,758,166
Revenue 2008Total revenue:$1,506,309
assetsCURRENT ASSETSCash and cash equivalents $623,750Grant receivable 335,000Accounts receivable - other 6,281Accrued interest 1,807Prepaid expenses 22,963
Total Current Assets 989,801
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT-AT COSTFurniture 3,495Equipment 4,052Software 34,951
42,498Less: accumulated depreciation (23,015)
Property and Equipment, Net 19,483
OTHER ASSETSSecurity deposit 2,632Total Other Assets 2,632
TOTAL ASSETS $1,011,916
Foundation Grants$669,100
Individual Contributions$832,941
In-kind Donations$1,100
Interest Income &Other Income
$3,168
General &Administration
$258,245
Fundraising$241,708
Program Expenses$1,258,213
SpecialProjects$141,335
State & Regional Programs$538,120
Federal Advocacy$174,588
Communications$424,170
programsSTATE ADVOCACYFAMM was active in several states in 2008 to improve sentencingpolicies, prevent bad policies from being introduced, and to promotesentence commutations for individuals serving excessively harshsentences. Highlights included:
InMassachusetts, FAMM helped lawmakers craft reformsto state drug sentencing laws, including bills that would have:(1) reduced the size of the drug-free school zones and eliminatedmandatory minimum sentences for first-time offenders and(2) allowed prisoners serving mandatory minimum drug sentencesto apply for parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence. In addition,FAMM was then invited to participate in the unveiling of the JudiciaryCommittee's criminal justice reform package.FAMM’s grassroots and grasstops approach inNew Jersey helped tosecure the introduction of two newmandatory minimum reform bills, andapproval of one bill through the Assembly that would reform the state’sdrug-free school-zone law. The bill would allow courts to consider whether towaive or impose the mandatory minimum sentence on drug-free school zonedefendants, based on the extent and seriousness of the defendant’s criminalrecord, the location of the offense in relation to school property, and thepossibility of exposing children to drug activity. InMichigan, FAMMhelped craft, and then gain passage through the House, a package of reformsintended to tie up loose ends from the historic reforms of 1998 and 2003.
FEDERAL ADVOCACY
In an exciting, politically charged election
year, FAMM worked in the courts, the
United States Sentencing Commission and
Congress, to achieve victories and to advance
systemic federal sentencing reform.
Notably, our successful 2007 effort to reform
crack cocaine penalties was rewarded when
it became retroactive in March 2008. Over
12,000 individuals serving nonviolent crack
sentences received sentence reductions
averaging two years.
FAMM used the tremendous momentum
from the Commission’s crack cocaine
reforms to spur Congress to action.
Seven bills were introduced in the 110th
Congress – three in the Senate and four
in the House – that would change crack
cocaine sentencing policy. Working with
advocates, coalition partners, Republicans
and Democrats in Congress, we championed the
best bills and lobbied for change. FAMMmember
and former prisoner Michael Short testified before
the House about his decades’ long sentence, and
members across the country emailed, phoned and
wrote their members of Congress to support
sentencing reform. The work we did in 2008 laid
the ground work for what we hope will be an
important legislative victory in the 111th Congress.
FAMM also helped win passage of the Second
Chance Act, which increased halfway house time
for federal prisoners and created the first Elderly
Offender Home Detention Pilot Program, allowing
eligible aged prisoners to serve the end of their
sentence in their own homes. FAMM promoted
the restoration of the judicial majority on the U.S.
Sentencing Commission. The passage of S.3659,
the “Judicial Administration and Technical
Amendments Act of 2008,” ensures that judges
are involved in shaping the sentencing guidelines.
Michael Short testifying before the HouseJudiciary Subcommittee on Crime.
“Congress can reenact aproud moment in its
history by dumping strictmandatory minimums."
Washington Post editorial citing
FAMM's Correcting Course report.
LITIGATION AND COMMUTATIONS
2008 was another successful yea
r for FAMM in the Supreme
Court. We filedamicus briefs on
the winning side of two
decisions. Theserulings give tria
l judges greaterdiscretion
in sentencing and limit the appli
cation of the
mandatory minimum penalties in the
Armed
Career Criminal Act.
Three long-timeFAMMmembers receiv
ed
commutations from President Georg
e W. Bush. To
help others in the future, FAMM
created a
comprehensiveCommutations
Guidebook thatshows
federal prisoners how to prepar
e and file their own
commutation petitions without t
he assistance ofa
lawyer. We are also pleased to re
port that we helped
secure eleven commutations in
the State of Michigan.
COMMUNICATIONS
In 2008, FAMM’s message reached more
readers, viewers, and listeners than ever
before.
Thanks to a focus on new media, FAMM
achieved over 51 million media impressions last
year. FAMM also garnered over 70 unique media
hits about sentencing issues, defined as articles
that feature FAMM staff, members, or projects.
FAMM wrote and released a new report titled
“Correcting Course: Lessons from the 1970 Repeal
of Mandatory Minimums.” Our groundbreaking
report tells, for the first time, the story of our
nation’s first failed experiment in mandatory
minimums and their subsequent repeal. Timed to
coincide with the report, FAMM commissioned a
national poll to gauge the American public’s current
views on sentencing reform. The poll found that
roughly six in ten Americans strongly oppose
mandatory sentencing and eight in ten believe that
courts, not Congress, should decide appropriate
sentences. “Correcting Course” was the subject of a
very favorable editorial in The Washington Post.
FAMM’s rapid response communications team
fired off press releases and e-alerts as soon as
sentencing issues made the news. We were quick
to get our point of view out and widely circulated
for mass media and our membership. FAMM’s
communications team also produced four issues of
the FAMMGram newsletter. These newsletters are
full of useful and current information about
sentencing for prisoners and their families.
pro
gram
s
Former FAMM staffer Angelyn Frazer, 3rd fromleft, with Florida conference attendees.
Julie Stewart is the President and
Founder of Families Against Mandatory
Minimums. She attended Mills College
in Oakland, California, graduating
summa cum laude in 1988 with a B.A.
in International Relations, after which she
worked at the libertarian Cato Institute for
three years as the director of public affairs.
Julie loves to take her two young
daughters to the wheat farm she grew up
on in Washington State.
Mary Price is FAMM’s Vice
President and General Counsel.
She directs the FAMM Litigation
Project and works on federal
sentencing reform on Capitol Hill
and before the United States
Sentencing Commission. Mary
graduated cum laude from Georgetown
University Law Center.
When not spending time with her
family, Mary rides Mister Horse,
an off-the-track thoroughbred in
dressage training.
Molly Gill (on left) is the Director of Special
and Legal Projects. Before relocating to
Washington, D.C., she worked in a prosecutor's
office in Minneapolis, where she became
concerned about prisoners and sentencing policy.
Molly received a law degree from the University
of Minnesota Law School.
Molly’s passions include the theater
(especially Shakespeare) and visiting
Ireland as often as possible.
Jennifer Seltzer-Stitt is the
Federal Legislative Director. She joined
FAMM after serving as the Director of
Public Policy at the Population Institute.
Jennifer has a B.A. from Miami University
of Ohio and a master’s degree from the
Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies.
Jennifer considers herself a bagel
connoisseur and can list the pros and
cons of all local bakeries.
Deborah Fleischaker is our
State Legislative Affairs Director. In
addition to her work at FAMM,
Deborah is an adjunct professor at the
University of Maryland School of Law and
teaches a seminar on the death penalty.
Deborah earned her bachelor’s degree from
Vanderbilt University and her law degree from
the University of Maryland.
Deborah has fists of fury and a
second degree black belt in tae kwon do.
Lenora Yerkes (on right) is FAMM’s
Law Intern and a second year law student at
Georgetown Law School. The native
Californian is also the co-president of the
Georgetown Law Innocence Project.
Lenora has degrees in Art History and
Visual Culture and in Printmaking.
Lenora’s interests include
German printmakers of the 19th and
20th centuries.
FAMM staff
Barbara Dougan is the Director of
FAMM’s Massachusetts Project, where she
gets to do it all: lobbying, public education,
and outreach to prisoners and their
families. She previously worked for many
years at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil
Rights in Boston. She is active in social
justice organizations in the Boston area.
Barb claims to have a stand-up comedy
routine, although we have yet to see a
performance.
Monica Pratt-Raffanel (not pictured)
is the Director of Communications. She joined FAMM in
1993 as FAMM’s National Project Director. In 1997 she
became our Director of Communications and has since
secured stories on sentencing reform in major national
newspapers, magazines, and on television.
Monica enjoys cooking and makes a mean
ginger orange sauce.
Roxana Rincones (not pictured) is the
Director of Finance and Administration.
Prior to FAMM, she worked as the Chief Financial
Officer at the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, a
nonprofit organization that advocates for victims of conflict
in several war-torn countries.
Roxana was born in Caracas, Venezuela,
and loves sailing.
Ava Page (on left) is FAMM’s Profile
Researcher. Ava is also the founder of Justice Not
Jails, a student organization dedicated to reaching
out to incarcerated people and their families in
the District. She is an American University
student who will graduate this year.
Ava loves animals and has four
rambunctious dogs.
Christie Wrightson is FAMM’s
Development Director. Prior to joining
FAMM, she worked at Our Place, D.C., a re-
entry program for formerly incarcerated
women. Christie received her Masters of Social
Work from Catholic University, with a
concentration on nonprofit development.
Christie’s most prized possession is
her red scooter named Indi.
Winnie Chao is our Development
Associate. Her interest in criminal justice
began at the Virginia Capital
Representation Resource Center, where she
worked as a legal assistant. She graduated
from the University of Virginia in 2007.
Winnie likes to relax on the weekends
by playing rugby.
Andrea Strong(not pictured) is the
Director of Member Services. Once the typical
suburban housewife, she found herself deeply involved in
the criminal justice system when her brother, Mark Young,
received a mandatory life sentence for his role in a
marijuana conspiracy in 1991. She is often the first person
prisoners and their families talk to at FAMM.
Andrea married her high school sweetheart and
they’ve been happily married for 38 years.
Karen Garrison (on right) is our Office
Assistant and her interest in criminal justice
reform began after her twins, Lawrence and
Lamont, were sentenced to serve time in a federal
prison for non-violent crack cocaine offenses.
She is a native Washingtonian and was a licensed
cosmetologist for 35 years.
Karen enjoys social networking websites
like Facebook and Twitter.
“Thanks FAMMfor yourtireless effort
s.
Despite the challenges, my re-
entry was successful
after 10 yearsand 9 months of
incarceration.
FAMM is a great organization and my
prayers are that it prospers a
nd continues.”
— Anthea Harris, served al
most 11 years
of a 15-yearsentence
Robert Batey
Clifford N. Burnstein
Graeme Bush and Wendy S. Rudolph
Jonathan Cohen
Ward Connerly
Matthew and Julia Coyte
Edward H. Crane
Douglas G. Cullinane
Arthur Curry
Brian M. Deitte
Richard J. Dennis
Timothy W. Ferguson
Bert Fingerhut
Marc and Phyllis L. Fleischaker
Jason and Wendy Flom
David Fox
Robert and Sandy Gelfond
John F. Gilmore
Herbert and Gigi Hancock
Philip D. Harvey
Ken and Terri Hertz
Robert Hissom
Lynn and Bruce Holbein
Cary Hopper
Ethelmae Humphreys
Brian Johnson and Gail Krieger
Annette and Cal Johnson
Skipper Jones
Woody Kaplan and Wendy Kaminer
Robert S. Kinkel
David Koch
John Kunze
Peter Lewis
Jason Linn
Barry and Wendy Meyer
Gerry Ohrstrom
Karen Orehowsky
Richard and Gina Patton
Kirk Perrow III and David D. Pugh
Walter Riley
Laurie O. Robinson and Sheldon Krantz
Dale Rosenbloom
J. Barrie Sellers
Rex Sinquefield
Paula Smith
Carol J. Smythe
Girardeau Spann
Simon Springett
William and Susie Taylor
Stuart and MarrGwen Townsend
Scott Wallace
Jan Warner
Phyllis and Ira Wender
Richard B. Wolf
Chic Wolk and Kristin Zethren
2008 Patrons of JusticeBoard of Directors
Julie Stewart, President
Scott Wallace, Vice President
Eric Sterling, Secretary
Paul Beckner, Treasurer
Jason Flom, Development Director
Carmen Hernandez, Member
Alfreda Robinson-Dawkins, Member
2008 Foundation andCorporate Sponsors
APC Components
Apple Pickers Foundation
Bernard F. and Alva B. GimbelFoundation
Blum-Kovler Foundation
The Chase Foundation of Virginia
Crawford-Doyle Charitable Foundation
Crowell & Moring LLP
JEHT Foundation
The Limo Almi Foundation
Mayer Brown LLP
Open Society Institute
Public Welfare Foundation
Wallace Global Fund
2008 Pro-bono Attorneys
Douglas Baker – Detroit, Mich.
Lynn D’Orio – Ann Arbor, Mich.
Terence Flanagan – Hartland, Mich.
Peter Goldberger – Ardmore, Pa.
William Hackett –Dearborn Heights, Mich.
Elbert Hatchett – Pontiac, Mich.
Edward Holmberg – Wyandotte, Mich.
John Holmes, Jr. –Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Patrick McQueeney –St. Clair Shores, Mich.
Frederick J. Miller – Oxford, Mich.
Douglas Mulkoff – Ann Arbor, Mich.
Corbett E. O’Meara – Schulman &Associates, PC, Detroit, Mich.
Margaret Raben – Gurewitz & Raben,Detroit, Mich.
Richard Steinberg – Detroit, Mich.
F. Martin Tieber – East Lansing, Mich.
Paul Youngs – Taylor, Mich.
Andrew W. Bagley, Paul Behrends,Matthew Fornataro, Charity GoodmanAllen, Thomas Hanusik, Theresa Lopez,Jonathan A. Moskowitz, StephenPalan, Kyler Smart - Crowell & Moring,LLP, Washington, D.C., New York
Kelly A. Bohne, Leanne K. Maxwell,Jason Stavers - Gibson, Dunn &Crutcher, LLP, Dallas, Tex. andSan Francisco, Calif.
Elizabeth De Luca*, Leon B. Greenfield,Adam J. Hornstine, A. Stephen Hut, Jr.,Marc E. Johnson, Perry A. Lange –WilmerHale LLP, Washington, D.C.
Kevin B. Huff, Gregory G. Rapawy –Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans& Figel, PLLC, Washington, D.C.
*No longer with this firm.
1612 K Street, NW, Suite 700Washington, DC 20006202.822.6700 | 202.822.6704 [email protected] | www.famm.org