Tag: Civil Liberties

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This Is How It Feels to Walk Out of Prison After 21 Years

In 1993 I went to prison for a first-time, nonviolent drug offense. The following first appeared on Substance.com:  I woke up on the morning of July 31 at 4 am, feeling apprehensive, elated and ready to take on the world. For most of the 2.2 million people behind the fence in this country, it was just another day. For me, it was the day I would leave prison for the last time. I was scheduled to report to R&D (the Receiving and Discharge department at FCC Forrest City) at 11 am to be processed out. Those last hours seemed to take forever. It was all coming to an end, after two decades and counting. I was finally going home—or to the halfway house at least. […] Read More

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It’s Official: Tennessee Becomes First State to Jail Women for Pregnancy Outcomes

Against the advice of doctors, addiction specialists and reproductive health groups, Gov. Haslam signs the bill anyway Tennessee has become the first state in the nation to pass a law criminalizing women for their pregnancy outcomes. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam took the 10 days allotted to him to consider the advice of doctors, addiction experts and reproductive health groups urging him to veto the punitive and dangerous measure that allows prosecutors to charge a woman with criminal assault if she uses illegal drugs during her pregnancy and her fetus or newborn is considered harmed as a result. Haslam ignored these recommendations — and the recommendations of nearly every major medical association, including the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy  — and signed the […] Read More

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WATCH: Martin Sheen Stars in Powerful New PSA Calling for Drug Sentencing Reform

The actor and his ‘West Wing‘ alter ego have a clear message for Congress and President Obama. On Tuesday, Brave New Films released a new PSA calling on Congress to pass the Smarter Sentencing Act. The proposed sentencing-reform legislation aims to reduce prison populations and costs by creating less severe minimum terms for nonviolent drug offenders. (On Monday,Yahoo News reported that President Obama could grant clemency to “hundreds, perhaps thousands” of nonviolent drug offenders by the end of his second term.) The video was produced in partnership with the ACLU and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), and stars actor Martin Sheen. It’s titled “President Bartlet has a message for Congress,” in reference to Sheen’s role on Aaron Sorkin‘s political drama The West Wing. Watch it here: “When BNF joined with FAMM and the ACLU to […] Read More