FAMM, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and other advocates, are currently recruiting attorneys, social workers, and medical professionals to work on compassionate release motions for prisoners serving federal sentences most vulnerable to COVID-19: the elderly and chronically ill.

For those whose lengthy incarceration is driven by cannabis-related offenses, the injustice is particularly striking. As the United States moves away from the criminalization of cannabis, giving rise to a major new industry, there remains the fundamental injustice inflicted upon those who have suffered criminal convictions and the attendant consequences of those convictions. Those consequences include imprisonment for the cannabis offense, a vast array of collateral impacts resulting from the conviction (even if prison was not imposed), and enhancement of sentences for other convictions because of a prior cannabis conviction. The time is right to seek redress for the individuals impacted by these consequences, to enable them to re-enter society where they remain incarcerated, and to restore rights that have been forfeited as a consequence of those convictions.

The Excessive Sentence Project recruits and trains pro bono attorneys to file compassionate release motions on behalf of individuals in federal prison whose sentences are too long, either because they would receive a much lower sentence today due to intervening changes in the law or because their original sentence was simply unjust.

As set forth in the 2018 report, “The Trial Penalty: The Sixth Amendment Right to Trial on the Verge of Extinction and How to Save It,” authored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in conjunction with the Foundation for Criminal Justice, trial by jury has declined to the point that less than 3% of state and federal criminal cases are tried to a jury. And, as set forth in the Report, many of those individuals who exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to a jury trial have been severely penalized for doing so. While society is awakening to the number of wrongs embodied in the trial penalty, there are a number of individuals living the trial penalty as they serve excessively long prison sentences as a result of electing to go to trial and holding the government to its burden. The only remedy for these individuals is executive clemency. The Trial Penalty Clemency Project aims to assist those individuals by pairing applicants with volunteer attorneys who will assist them in preparing a clemency petition.

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Welcome to NACDL's Advocacy Resource Center. On these pages, NACDL Members, advocates, and Affiliate Organizations can find advocacy tools, guides, and services to get in contact and build relationships with state and federal legislators.

NACDL's Legislative Action Center keeps you informed about important issues impacting criminal justice at the state and federal levels, allowing you to make an impact on criminal justice reform by connecting you directly to Congress and your state elected officials. Here you will find active issues and campaigns on which to lend your powerful voice. If there are no alerts listed, it means there are currently no active campaigns. Check back often for more ways to get engaged in criminal justice reform. Or better yet, sign up to receive our legislative updates.