Published in FAMM·5 days agoA Second Chance to Be a Mother and a Productive Member of SocietyBy Lorraine Parise Editor’s Note: FAMM member Lorraine Parise was kind enough to share her story about her foster daughter, Sherry Hubert, who is currently incarcerated at SCI Cambridge Springs. Sherry then participated in FAMM’s #VisitAPrison campaign and met with FAMM staff and an elected lawmaker to tell her story. …Famm3 min readFamm3 min read
Published in FAMM·Mar 24What’s Old is Unfortunately New AgainBy John Norton As a communicator working towards justice reform who has called D.C. home since childhood, the news cycle of today conjures many emotions for both myself and our surrounding community of neighbors, advocates and public servants who support our collective mission here at FAMM. So, when I read…Prison3 min readPrison3 min read
Published in FAMM·Mar 14FAMM Review: “UnPrisoned” Smartly Handles Complex Reentry Issues (While Still Being Fun and Funny)By Tripp Laino Many of us here at FAMM were excited when we saw the trailer for Hulu’s new show, UnPrisoned, a comedy about the adventures (and presumably, misadventures) of a family adjusting to life after a member returns from a 17-year prison sentence. One of the things we talk…Famm3 min readFamm3 min read
Published in FAMM·Feb 28Criminal Justice Reform Means Reforming Punishment, TooBy Sonora Bostian-Posner D.C.’s criminal justice system has gotten a lot of national attention — but not in a good way. The D.C. City Council recently voted to revise the District’s 100-year-old criminal code. The measure was vetoed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, but the Council had enough votes to override…Police2 min readPolice2 min read
Published in FAMM·Feb 23How Far We’ve Come: The Rise of Compassionate ReleaseBy Sonora Bostian-Posner and Shanna Rifkin On Thursday, February 23, the U.S. Sentencing Commission will hold a hearing during which invited witnesses will speak to proposals to amend the compassionate release policy statement in the Sentencing Guidelines. That policy statement is in dire need of amending — it hasn’t been…Prison3 min readPrison3 min read
Published in FAMM·Feb 15Ordinary People, Second Chances, and Making a DifferenceBy Geoffrey Owens I’ve been a professional actor for almost four decades. Most people know me as the guy who played “Elvin” on The Cosby Show and as the guy who got “job shamed” when he worked at Trader Joe’s. Soon after that incident, I recorded a video for FAMM…Actors3 min readActors3 min read
Published in FAMM·Feb 9Freedom At The State of the UnionBy Celeste Trusty Among the attendees of President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address was Dennis “Freedom” Horton, my dear friend and the esteemed guest of U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.). Throughout the fanfare, commentary and speech, I had one consistent thought — that inside the House chamber of…Pennsylvania3 min readPennsylvania3 min read
Published in FAMM·Feb 6D.C.’s Crime Problem is More Complicated Than Some Would Have You BelieveBy John Norton “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” -Martin Luther King Jr. My wife and I are parents of 2nd and 5th…Washington DC4 min readWashington DC4 min read
Published in FAMM·Feb 2A Pound of Flesh: When Freedom is the Sum of Your PartsBy Sonora Bostian-Posner Dystopian elements in science fiction serve as a warning and a means to terrify us with what-if — but in many cases, these horrors are already happening to our most marginalized communities, including people who are incarcerated. …Body2 min readBody2 min read
Published in FAMM·Jan 31Tyre Nichols’ Death and the Urgent Need for HumanizationBy Kevin Ring I don’t know why those Memphis police officers beat Tyre Nichols to death. I don’t understand why other law enforcement officials arrived on the scene and did nothing to help. And I don’t know why it took more than 20 minutes for an ambulance to take him…Famm3 min readFamm3 min read
