FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2026
Media Contact: teamfamm@mrss.com
FAMM Welcomes Molly Crane as Counsel to Support State Compassionate Release Work Nationwide
Molly has previously served as FAMM’s Equal Justice Works Fellow since September 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. – FAMM today announced that Molly Crane, an Equal Justice Works Fellow who has helped build compassionate release clearinghouses in states across the country and secure freedom for people who are sick and dying in prison, will join the organization full time as Counsel beginning September 1.
During her fellowship, Crane helped establish FAMM’s state Compassionate Release Clearinghouse program, which brings together pro bono attorneys, medical professionals, advocates, formerly incarcerated people, and families to help people in prison who are elderly, seriously ill, or dying seek release. She has helped launch clearinghouses in multiple states, working alongside local partners to build the infrastructure and relationships needed to turn compassionate release from a rarely used legal remedy into a meaningful pathway home.
Crane has also used lessons from the clearinghouse program to advance broader policy change. She has worked with advocates and coalition partners in states across the country to identify barriers to compassionate release, develop strategies for reform, and build grassroots movements involving people and families directly impacted by incarceration.
“Molly brings a deeply compassionate heart to this work and an unwavering belief in the humanity of people who are incarcerated,” said Dr. Shaneva D. McReynolds, President of FAMM. “Molly understands that a prison sentence should never mean being stripped of dignity, particularly for people facing serious or life-limiting illness behind prison walls. Her passion for ensuring that they are treated with compassion, dignity, and humanity during some of their most vulnerable moments is both deeply personal and urgently needed. We are incredibly grateful for Molly’s leadership and for the way she continues to remind policymakers that mercy, dignity, and basic human decency must always have a place in our justice system.”
“I am thrilled that Molly will be continuing her work at FAMM as Counsel,” said FAMM General Counsel Shanna Rifkin. “Molly is an exceptional attorney, but what makes her such a tremendous advocate is her deep investment in the communities and people impacted by the carceral system. She understands that the law is a tool for change, and she knows how to pair rigorous legal work with organizing, coalition-building, and the voices of people most directly affected. I have watched Molly help build something that did not exist before. And, most importantly, help bring people home who otherwise would have died in prison. We are incredibly fortunate to have her on our team.”
Since joining FAMM as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, Crane has helped bring people home across the country who were sick and dying and would otherwise have remained in prison. She has also passed legislation to expand access to compassionate release. Her work reflects FAMM’s approach to compassionate release: individual cases can not only save lives, but also expose systemic failures and create opportunities for lasting change.
“I am excited to continue this work at FAMM and to keep building on what we have started with the state clearinghouses,” said Crane. “People who are elderly, seriously ill, or dying remain behind bars because compassionate release systems are inaccessible, underused, or simply broken. I am grateful to the people and families who have trusted us with their stories and to the advocates, lawyers, doctors, and community members who are working alongside them to change these systems.”
Crane graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School, where she received the Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award. Before joining FAMM, she advocated alongside people impacted by the criminal legal system in a range of settings, including people held in solitary confinement, people with disabilities in immigration detention, incarcerated youth, people facing the death penalty, and people experiencing discrimination and abuse in custody.
FAMM’s state Compassionate Release Clearinghouses recruit, train, and support pro bono attorneys and connect them with volunteer medical experts to represent seriously ill and aging people in state prison who meet release criteria.
About FAMM
Since FAMM’s founding in 1991, it has helped more than 500,000 Americans receive shorter, fairer prison sentences. FAMM and its advocates have also helped reduce the nation’s prison population by approximately 200,000 people and reduce racial disparities in sentencing, bringing the nation’s Black prison population to its lowest level since 1989.
FAMM’s mission is to create a more fair and effective justice system that respects our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping our communities safe. This mission not only reduces unnecessary suffering for incarcerated people, but also for their family members who have to serve the sentence along with their incarcerated loved one.
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