Timothy Martin Casarez is a first-time offender who was sentenced to nearly 40 years in federal prison. Significantly, there is no parole in the federal system. Thus, Tim is serving a sentence much, much longer than the average sentence for such heinous crimes as murder, child trafficking for the use of pornography, rape, and so on.

Mr. Erwin, 81, a disabled Black inmate, has been incarcerated for 40 years—40 years—spread across 11 different facilities. For the past three years, his home has been the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, in a minimum-security unit with other disabled inmates. Partially paralyzed on his right side from a stroke a decade ago, Mr. Erwin relies on other inmates to push his wheelchair and to type his emails.

Free Mark Hebert: After Having Been Convicted of Relatively Minor Nonviolent, White-Collar Crimes Yielding a Sentencing Range of 3 - 5 Years in Prison, a Federal Judge Sentenced Mark to Life in Prison for an Uncharged, Untried Murder

After legalizing marijuana for recreational use, Missouri has recently expunged more than 50,000 convictions for all marijuana convictions that involved 35 or fewer grams. Many prisoners serving state sentences have been released. The problem is there are federal prisoners who had their federal sentences radically enhanced because of the prior state marijuana convictions, which are now void. Nick Papin is one of those people.

More than a decade ago, mother of three, Michelle Yvette Lee was sentenced to a 30-year sentence, after being offered a sentence to a reduced charge that would have likely resulted in a sentence close to the time she has already served.

When Overstreet was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison, his sentence was not supposed to be torture. But after a life-changing spinal cord injury that left him confined to a wheelchair and eventually a walker and untold physical, emotional, and psychological pain and misery, that's precisely what his sentence became—torture.

J.C. has served most of his 19-year sentence. Considering time for good behavior, J.C. has about 3 years remaining.

Low-level, nonviolent, first-time offender Winfred Ware Jr. is the face of over-sentencing in federal court. His case is a prime example of how federal prison sentences can be inflated well beyond what is reasonable.

After a one-day trial, the jury convicted Winfred of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

The case of Andy Anderson is one of those cases where one looks at the prison sentence (30 years in federal prison without the possibility of parole) for a nonviolent, first-time offender, and then looks at the crime, and sees a striking disconnect that leaves you incredulous.

Rodney's case in the northern district of Texas (4:19-cr-302). His case is striking because he was sentenced to 20 years in prison when he was in his 50s and after running a successful business for many years. He was never accused of committing any violence. Although he did have a drug problem in his youth, he overcame addiction and went on to lead a lawful, productive and successful life.

Andrei is Serving Nearly 20 Years in Federal Prison for a Nonviolent Marijuana Crime.

What happened in Agne’s case makes us just shake our heads in disgust.

The federal government wants you to believe only big-time drug kingpins receive harsh sentences that span decades. But that’s not the case. In reality, low-level, first-time nonviolent drug offenders routinely get crushed with brutal decades-long sentences while the drug kingpins get a relative slap on the wrist. This is because, in a lot of cases, it’s the kingpins who have the best information to trade to the federal government (about other criminals in the drug trade) in exchange for a greatly reduced sentence, essentially cashing in on their central involvement and role at the top of a drug operation.

Tom Caraway is approaching his seventies. Until now, he's never been to prison—never even had a traffic ticket. He's been in prison for nearly 18 years for a crime he did not commit. 

Below is detailed the outrageousness of the case of Tom Caraway, a man who was wrongfully convicted of using the U.S. mail to send someone an explosive device, resulting in a mandatory minimum 30-year federal prison sentence. 

Tom's case stinks. The injustice emanates from the sense of truth and justice in our souls. 

First-Time Offender Levi Avila Was 18 When He Committed his Crime. He’s Been in Federal Prison for 25 Years. Nobody was Hurt During his Crimes. He was Sentenced Under an Outdated Draconian (924c stacking) Law that Congress has Since Discarded. He Has Maintained a Spotless Disciplinary Record and Has Engaged in Extensive Post-Conviction Rehabilitative Efforts.

When people think of the word "justice," they think of fairness. And so, when most people think of the American justice system, they believe that built into that system is fundamental procedural fairness.

But there are traps set for people who have been convicted and imprisoned for federal crimes who are trying to use a retroactive change in the law to free themselves from what the law says is now an illegal prison sentence. That is, when the law changes and demands that the prisoner be freed, in many cases, in a cruel twist, the system is designed to block that pathway to freedom.

Michael Bowe's case brings to life this particular brand of injustice.

Bowe was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison. Here's the short version.

Recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 24 states. Yet people are still being sentenced to years in prison for marijuana.

With that in mind, in 2011 Anthony Williams was at a friend Shahan Small’s house when state law enforcement knocked on Small’s door. They were investigating a marijuana crime.

Small gave them consent to search his home. Their search yielded 40 pounds of marijuana found in Small’s dryer.

As a result, the state of Arizona charged both Smalls and Anthony with Attempted Transportation for Marijuana for Sale (class 3 felony). See CR:2013001080 Maricopa County (Arizona).