Mothers are the First Punishers

In case you missed it (and we obviously did here at the blog), check out FAMM President Julie Stewart's Mother's Day piece in The Huffington Post.

Ahhh, mothers. For those of us who grew up with them, they were often the first to lay down the law of the land, and the first to punish us when we broke it. But they grieve when their children are punished too much -- no matter how old the child or what he did:

This Mother's Day was another bittersweet one for Janet Earle. At 78, she has outlived two of her three sons. A dozen years ago, she lost her third son, Scott, through the cracks of Florida's criminal justice system. That Scott remains in a Florida prison is as useless for public safety as it is heartbreaking to Janet Earle.

Janet Earle's story is unique because her son's sentence is so unwarranted. Scott's drug conviction was not the result of evil intent, but rather of a sadly common combination of addiction and bad judgment. Scott began using painkillers after he suffered a sports injury as a teenager. He did not become an addict, however, until after he was involved in several car accidents. His dependence on the medication grew until he was taking over a dozen pills each day. Janet Earle didn't notice her son's addiction because during this time he worked full-time at an auto dealership and moonlighted as a musician.

Scott is now serving a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence under a truly draconian Florida state law.  FAMM is working to reform that law, so that more mothers don't have to go through what Janet Earle is going through.

You can learn more about mandatory minimum sentences and support our work at www.famm.org.