Dear friend,

On this Veterans Day, I've been thinking a lot about Kenny Kubinski — and second chances.

Kenny was given a life sentence for his part in a marijuana drug conspiracy at the height of the war on drugs. He has been behind bars for more than a quarter of a century.

Despite his merciless sentence, Kenny has carved out a meaningful life of service. He says: "There's a rule in prison that people on the outside may not know about: Giving another inmate something of value."

"There are so many prisoners who are in need of help in one manner or another," Kenny says. "At the same time there is less and less provided by the institution. Helping others gain their GED is very common. Also helping new prisoners just coming in is common. The suicide watch I volunteered for years ago eventually became a service that we are now trained and compensated for. As a Vietnam War veteran, I have supported fellow veterans to access programs for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated made available through the Veteran’s Administration."

As a lifer, Kenny isn't eligible for any relief from the First Step Act. But wouldn't you agree that he's deserving of a second chance?

Kenny says: "I've figured out how to do my time, more or less by some measure of success. Underneath all of it, though, I can't forget that I got a life sentence. I will never get square with that, that murderers and rapists are in here for less time."

We can't forget, either.

Today, our thoughts are with veterans like Kenny, serving harsh sentences with no relief in sight. The people who have served our country who are now serving time deserve a criminal justice system that is just. That's why at FAMM, we're focusing much of our work these days on "second chance" reforms — for Kenny and so many others.

To all the veterans out there, you have our gratitude and our support.

Sincerely,


Kevin Ring
President, FAMM

P.S. You can read more of Kenny's story on our website: https://famm.org/stories/success-on-the-inside-kenny-kubinski/