Dear friend,

We won! After three years of fighting, FAMM and our partners were able to convince the Tennessee legislature to effectively repeal mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug-free school zone offenses.

Tennessee's school zone law was one of the worst in the country. It doubled or tripled prison sentences for drug offenses that occurred within 1,000 feet of a school — even if the offense didn’t involve or harm children. It also created racial disparity by punishing communities of color more, just because of where they lived.

The reforms passed (SB 2734) shrink the zones to 500 feet and make the mandatory enhanced sentences optional. Judges can now apply the mandatory minimum only when children are actually put in danger.

We're confident Gov. Bill Lee will sign these reforms into law, and they will go into effect on July 1, 2020. Unfortunately, the reforms are not retroactive. But we have already urged Gov. Lee to grant clemency to the 400 people still in prison serving unjust sentences under the drug-free zone law.

Impacted families and stories were essential for this win. Our FAMMilies shared their painful journeys with us and with lawmakers. Lawmakers listened and took action. You can read these family stories and a summary of the drug-free zone reforms here: https://famm.org/our-work/states-where-we-are-working/tennessee/

Together, we are improving the justice system and making it fairer for everyone. Our stories, voices, and hard work create change.

Thanks for supporting all that we do.

Best,


Kevin Ring
President, FAMM