News / FJP Releases

January 21, 2025

FJP Denounces Gun Manufacturers’ Immunity Claims for Selling Arms to Mexican Drug Cartels in Smith & Wesson v. Mexico

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging gun manufacturers’ legal immunity claims in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos. The case brought by the Mexican government alleges that American gun manufacturers provided “knowing and substantial assistance” to gun dealers flagged by the federal government for engaging in bulk gun sales to Mexican drug cartels. 

Following the First Circuit’s refusal to dismiss Mexico’s case, the gun manufacturers appealed to the Supreme Court arguing that they are exempt from all liability for aiding and abetting drug cartels’ illegal activities because these sales amount to “routine business practices” that are protected under U.S. law. In its brief, FJP noted that this legal argument – if successful – would upset “textbook theories of aiding and abetting liability,” undercutting criminal and civil prosecutions for similar crimes across the country.

“Since 2006, drug cartels have murdered more than 430,000 people in Mexico, yet American gun manufacturers continue to supply these dangerous criminal organizations with the weapons they need to kill any teacher, student, journalist, or politician who dares to stand against their reign of terror,” said FJP Acting Co-Executive Director Amy Fettig. “The Court has a legal and moral obligation to reject gun manufacturers’ ludicrous legal arguments, which would undermine both public safety and Americans’ trust in the criminal legal system.”

January 17, 2025

FJP Applauds President Biden on Historic Commutations for 2,500 People Convicted of Nonviolent Drug Offenses

Today, President Biden announced the commutation of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug infractions. In an official statement, President Biden noted that these individuals are currently serving disproportionately long sentences following changes to current U.S. “law, policy, and practice,” such as the crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity that disproportionately impacted Black and brown communities. The move comes on the heels of President Biden’s decision to commute the vast majority of the federal death row.  

Fair and Just Prosecution Acting Co-Executive Director Robin Olsen issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s historic announcement:

“Rectifying unjust sentencing disparities, including for crack and powder cocaine, is an important component of seeking equal justice. It is long overdue for the United States to address the cases for those serving unjust sentences that would not be given today. President Biden has cemented his legacy by addressing critical issues of justice, fairness, and criminal legal reform. We are appreciative of this action and the work done that’s led to today. There is still more work to do to move toward fairness in our justice system.”

December 23, 2024

FJP Commends President Biden for Historic Commutation of 37 Federal Death Sentences

Today, President Biden made history by commuting 37 federal death sentences – the largest number of death sentences commuted by any modern president. There are now only three individuals remaining on federal death row, and today’s commutations mean that there are no individuals at imminent risk of federal execution given the appeals process is ongoing in those cases.

“The significance of President Biden’s actions today cannot be overstated when it comes to acknowledging the profound moral abomination of the U.S. death penalty regime,” said Amy Fettig, acting Co-Executive Director of Fair and Just Prosecution. “Among developed nations, the United States stands alone in its commitment to a barbaric process that is riddled with errors, heavily biased against people of color, and antithetical to our nation’s highest ideals of compassion, mercy, rehabilitation, and equal justice under the law. It is time for governors in states across the nation to follow President Biden’s lead, commute the death sentences of individuals within their state criminal legal systems, and commit to bringing an end to this barbaric practice once and for all.”     

FJP Urges MI Supreme Court to Find Mandatory Life Without Parole Sentences for Emerging Adults Unconstitutional

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) Acting Co-Executive Director Amy Fettig released the following statement in response to companion amicus briefs the organization submitted to the Michigan Supreme Court in The State of Michigan v. Montario Taylor and The State of Michigan v. Andrew Czarnecki.

“The State of Michigan has firmly enshrined constitutional commitments to rehabilitation – a principle that is irreconcilable with any sentence mandating that young adults must die in prison regardless of their personal circumstances or subsequent reform and growth during incarceration. Mandatory life without parole sentences for young adults go against an overwhelming and incontrovertible body of well-established research demonstrating that young adults do not have the same fully developed judgement, emotional regulation, or risk assessment ability of fully grown adults. In fact, studies show that people “age out of crime” as their brains develop. Imposing mandatory life-without-parole sentences on 19- and 20-year-olds — who cannot legally drink or even independently rent a vehicle — is an obviously cruel and unjust form of punishment that should be deemed unconstitutional by Michigan’s Supreme Court.” 

December 12, 2024

FJP Applauds President Biden for Granting Clemency to Nearly 1,500 Americans, Renews Call for Commuting Federal Death Row

Fair and Just Prosecution Acting Co-Executive Director Amy Fettig released the following statement in response to President Joe Biden’s historic decision commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals who have demonstrated successful rehabilitation and community reintegration after serving their sentences under home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history. President Biden also issued pardons to 39 individuals convicted of non-violent crimes.

“Today, President Biden has taken a historic step toward justice and second chances, further advancing his commitment to fairness, equity, and second chances within the criminal legal system. Now is the time to build on this progress by commuting the sentences of every individual on federal death row to sentences of life imprisonment.”