15th Anniversary of the First Federal Law FAMM Successfully Passed September 27, 2009
Posted by FairSentencing in : Current News , add a commentIt’s the “safety-valve” and it was the product of a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and…compromise. Although we didn’t get everything we wanted, when then-President Bill Clinton signed the 1994 Crime Bill into law, we rejoiced that our small piece of it was included in the bill.
Fifteen years later, it’s clear that it wasn’t such a small piece after all!
The safety-valve gives the courts the ability to sentence certain low-level, nonviolent drug offenders below the decades-long mandatory minimums they might otherwise have received.
Since September 23, 1994:
- Over 63,000 people have been sentenced below the mandatory minimum for drug offenses because of the safety valve;
- Each year since 2000, between 20 to 25 percent of all drug offenders facing mandatory minimums have benefitted from the safety valve;
- Last year alone, over 5,700 people received the benefit of the safety valve!
These aren’t just numbers – they are people. Thousands of people across the country who have gone home from prison earlier, reunited with loved ones before they otherwise would have, and enjoyed birthday parties and holidays they otherwise would have missed.
The safety valve also means that in thousands of cases, judges have been allowed to do what they do best: look at the person in front of them and decide on a fair and just sentence, without being bound by a mandatory minimum.
Reminiscing about our safety-valve victory makes me eager to experience that feeling again! Passage of sentencing reform is within our reach now – the bills have been introduced, are moving through Congress, and just need vigilant, persistent, and vocal pressure to pass them! That means YOU and FAMM and everyone else who cares about justice need to stay on top of our members of Congress! Visit the FAMM website to find out how www.famm.org.
Let’s fight for more victories!
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