Back in July, I was working on Part 3 of my series
Crime is down. Was it worth it?.  I had just finished writing about the FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums) organization, and some of the horror stories of unjust sentences from their website. I really was still in something of a shocked state at the insane destruction being caused by "get tough on crime" laws, because the stories of the individuals who had fallen prey to those laws forced me to deal with the issue emotionally, not just as an abstract issue of justice.

While on the FAMM website, I noticed that there was no chapter listed for Minnesota, and I was wondering whether I had the time to volunteer to form one.

I was jolted out of that state by a phone call from a woman who wanted to know how to join the Libertarian Party... right now... but I soon got a shock from our conversation. She told me that she had just volunteered to form a Minnesota Chapter of FAMM! She had also done enough investigation to discover that the LP takes a principled stand against victimless crimes, excessive penalties, and against the War on Drugs.

A stroke of fate... a phone call that has added another layer of activism to my life. The woman, Cindy, went on to explain that her son is in prison on drug charges, and that, on many trips to visit him, she has met and talked with many other parents and spouses with loved ones in the same situation. We talked for a long time, and I began to sense what it feels like to have someone you care about convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison. I also began to comprehend that it can be even more difficult for the innocent families of prisoners than it is for the prisoners themselves.

Since that phone call, I've helped Cindy form Minnesota FAMM. We've held two meetings, and I've created a basic website at a temporary location.

I'm writing about this because we want to issue an invitation to you to join us. If you have a friend or family member in prison, you'll find a group who understands and shares your grief. If you've been fortunate to not have such a tragedy strike your family (yet), I invite you to come and listen to tales of the destruction caused by a justice system that is seriously out of control.

What is happening to people being prosecuted in our criminal justice system has little to do with crime and very little to do with justice. It's wrong in so many ways that it's truly difficult to write about it in an organized manner.

• We have completely innocent people in prison. Yes... completely innocent, victims of a prosecution system unimaginably warped.
  
  
• Thousands are in prison for mere possession of marijuana, even though 20% of the population smokes it.
  
  
• The average sentence in the federal system for drugs is 76 months.
  
  
• The average federal sentence for sexual abuse is 71 months.
  
  
• The average sentence for manslaughter is 45 months.The average sentence for drug offenders has TRIPLED in the past 15 years.
  
  
• The average cost of incarcerating an individual for a year is $22,000
  
  
• 2.1 million Americans are in jail and prison.
  
  
• Two-thirds of them are African American or Hispanic.
  
  
• 60% of the federal prison population are drug defendants.
  
  
• Women comprise the fastest-growing prison population.
  
  
• More than 1.5 million children have a parent in prison.

It's comforting for most people to believe that such things only happen to "bad people". It just ain't so. The more familiar you become with the justice system and with those who have fallen into it, the more you will realize that it can happen to almost anyone. None of us are safe from such madness.

I urge each of you to go check out the FAMM website at length. We must stop this insanity, and we CAN do it, if enough people help. I invite you to add yourself to the Minnesota FAMM mailing list... and then attend our next meeting. If you're from another state than Minnesota, check the FAMM website for a chapter near you.

Don't assume that you're safe, or that others can fix this without you.