Barbara J. Dougan

Barbara J. Dougan was recently named director of the newly launched Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) campaign in Massachusetts. FAMM is a national, nonpartisan organization working for fair and proportional sentencing laws on the federal and state levels. Dougan will orchestrate FAMM’s efforts in Massachusetts to assist lawmakers in reforming state mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

Dougan is a civil rights lawyer who worked for 16 years with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association, representing the victims of racial violence and discrimination. In addition to law reform litigation, Dougan conducted extensive outreach and training for community groups, law enforcement and the legal profession. She advocated for policy reform on numerous criminal justice issues and, as co-chair of the Greater Boston Civil Rights Coalition, Dougan wrote and delivered testimony to Massachusetts legislators about the need to reform mandatory minimums.

“FAMM’s sights have been set on reforming Massachusetts’ mandatory sentences for over a decade. Now that we have launched a reform campaign, we are delighted to have a leader as well versed in the law and its consequences as Barbara,” said Mary Price, vice president and general counsel of FAMM. “Barbara has devoted her considerable talents to furthering systemic reform while never losing sight of individuals affected by the policies she works on.”

FAMM’s Massachusetts campaign was launched in 2007, in response to calls for an overhaul of the state’s sentencing system from Gov. Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and other legislative leaders.

FAMM was formed in 1991 by Julie Stewart, after her brother was sentenced to five years in federal prison for a first-time marijuana offense. FAMM provides policy makers and the media with sentencing policy analysis and profiles of people serving mandatory prison sentences.