(Satellite Location: East Erie) Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) and Second-Chance Sentencing
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) and Second-Chance Sentencing
Pennsylvania sends too many people to prison for far longer than necessary. Sentencing laws that severely limit pathways to relief for excessive and unending punishment make the problem even worse. As a result, Pennsylvania has thousands of aging and sick people whose continued incarceration serves absolutely no purpose. Families and taxpayers need relief, and second chance laws are the answer. FAMM is non-partisan and its mission is to create a more fair and effective justice system that respects our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping communities safe. What would that look like? What is second chance sentencing? We will discuss the state of criminal justice reform in Pennsylvania generally, as well as specific efforts to end automatic life without parole, create medical and geriatric release mechanisms, and expand clemency.
Location: Erie Center for Arts & Technology (ECAT)—650 East Ave. Suite 120, Erie, PA 16503.
Date/Time: Thursday, August 11 @ 7 p.m.
Admission: FREE
Parking: lot at front entrance, street parking
Please read our full Covid-19 policy here (updated July 21, 2022).
Maria Goellner (“gell-ner”), Esq. is a public interest attorney and advocate for equal justice. She is the Pennsylvania State Policy Director for FAMM, a nonpartisan reform organization that strives to create a more fair and effective justice system that respects our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping our communities safe.
Goellner is a graduate of Fordham University and New York Law School, and previously acted as the sole Assistant Federal Defender for the Western District of Pennsylvania’s Erie Division. She also served as a defense attorney in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit and clerked with the Legal Aid Society in Queens prior to joining FAMM. She has protected the rights and dignity of thousands of families over the last decade. She has served on the Board of the Erie County Bar Association, co-founding its Diversity and Inclusion Division, and organized with participatory defense and bail fund hubs. She also sat on the Third Circuit Lawyers Advisory Committee and has been recognized by the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for exceptional advocacy and commitment to education and equal justice. She is a second-generation American and lives in Erie, Pennsylvania with her family.
