publications
June 15, 2018
Letter Against Synthetic Drug Bill that Expands Penalties for Federal Drug Offenses
As part of a larger coalition, The Sentencing Project opposes the Stop Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues (SITSA) Act of 2017 which would disproportionately incarcerate those with low-level federal drug offenses, concentrate power solely within the Department of Justice and criminalize people with substance use disorder who need treatment, not punishment.
news
June 04, 2018
NBC Nightly News: Kim Kardashian visits White House to talk prison and sentencing reform
Marc Mauer explains why sentencing reform is necessary to provide relief to the thousands of people in federal prison serving life without parole for non-violent drug offenses.
Dorothy Gaines
Dorothy Gaines's life changed when Alabama state police raided her home for drugs. Police found no evidence of Gaines having possessed or sold drugs, yet federal prosecutors charged Gaines with drug conspiracy.
news
May 01, 2018
State Advocacy News: Grassroots Actions to Challenge Mass Incarceration
Coalitions in Maryland, Mississippi, and Kentucky mobilized to counter regressive sentencing measures by promoting solutions addressing underlying causes of crime.
news
April 30, 2018
Jeff Sessions is shamefully undermining WEB Du Bois's legacy
A justice department program of research fellowships in the civil rights leader’s name has been twisted to suit the attorney general’s agenda
Willie Mays Aikens
In 2008, Willie Mays Aikens made headlines when a federal judge reduced his lengthy prison term to 14 years as a result of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s adjustment to the crack cocaine sentencing guidelines. Aikens was released in June 2008.
news
April 20, 2018
Trump’s commitment to a renewed War on Drugs
Officials should not see this public health crisis as an invitation to exacerbate mass incarceration.
publications
April 10, 2018
Letter to Subcommittee Hearing on Defeating Fentanyl: Addressing the Deadliest Drugs Fueling the Opioid Crisis
The Sentencing Project outlines lessons learned from the War on Drugs and recommends that federal resources be directed towards policies that will expand access to drug treatment to stop the skyrocketing death toll from overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids.
Kemba Smith
At 24 years old, Kemba Smith was sentenced to 24.5 years in prison for conspiracy to participate in her boyfriend's drug activities, a non-violent, first-time offense. For years, her parents galvanized a tireless movement seeking clemency for their daughter.
news
March 30, 2018
Race & Justice News: Jackson, MS to Stop Releasing Mug Shots of People Shot by Police
"The last image of any person should not be on the worst day of their life," said Jackson Mayor. Learn more in Race & Justice News.
publications
March 29, 2018
The Sentencing Project Releases its 2017 Annual Report
Learn more about how our research and analysis in 2017 played a major role in shaping the policy debate around criminal justice reform.
Theresa McIntyre Smith
In 1999, Theresa Smith was arrested at an airport after she met a drug courier in Roy Mercer’s network and according to the government, identified a suitcase containing eleven kilograms of cocaine for the courier. Smith said she had been told by Mercer that the suitcase contained his nieces’ clothes. For this first-time non-violent offense, Smith was sentenced to a ten-year mandatory prison term.
news
March 28, 2018
Punitive responses to gang violence are not effective
Residents of the communities that experience gang crime want it to stop, and there are better ways to make that happen than sending more people to prison for ever longer sentences.
publications
March 27, 2018
National coalition rejects death penalty and increased penalties for drug offenses
Sixty-two faith, civil rights, treatment and legal organizations condemn accelerating the use of the death penalty and urge the Trump Administration to support proven public health strategies to end the opioid crisis, reduce problematic drug use and save lives.
Lawrence and Lamont Garrison
Sentences for federal drug crimes are based on the quantity of the drugs involved, not the individual’s role in the crime. The emphasis on quantity rather than the role of the offender, along with the conspiracy laws, too often result in disproportionate sentencing, even for first-time offenses such as the Garrisons’.
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