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My name is Ruhani Bustamante. By the age of eleven, I experienced incarceration; throughout my teens Juvenile Hall had become my home, although occasionally I came home, one month here, two months there. Freedom as a teenager as far as I can recall are snapshot...
I’ve been in a prison for 43 years with a sentence of life without the Possibility of Parole/LWOP. In 1978 at the young age of 22, I made a terrible, life altering mistake. In believing I was protecting my home from intruders, I shot and killed an undercover,...
I am Rollin Denem. I ‘m putting a little bit of my story on paper because I want you all out there to know not only who I was, but who I am today. I am originally from South Central, LA. At the time of the crime I am incarcerated for; I was 18 years old. None of my...
Welcome to FUEL (Families United to End Life Without Parole): a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for justice and reform in the criminal justice system. Join us in our fight for justice, compassion, and a more equitable future.
FUEL participates in a wide variety of actions that include rallies, caravans, meetings, picnic, webinars, LWOP strategy workshops, and additional activities and events that increase awareness and advocacy to end LWOP. Check out our calendar to be a part of future events!
To end all forms of the death penalty – death by incarceration as well as death by injection. Further, we support incarcerated persons with LWOP sentences and assist families in gaining the skills and knowledge to advocate for the end of LWOP.
We began as a small group making a concerted effort to grow through social media and word of mouth, both inside prison and in the community. In just a few months, the core group expanded their numbers and took on a name that reflected our purpose. The group became known as Families United to End LWOP – FUEL.
Through broad outreach within the criminal justice community, and inside the prisons, within a short period, the group became a source of hope for both women and men serving the “other death penalty”, and an organizing tool for their loved ones in the communities. FUEL partnered with other organizations and joined coalitions which were also engaged in the movement to end LWOP, most significantly, the Drop LWOP coalition.
As the group organized in the community, men and women on the inside began to form Inside FUEL chapters within their facilities, which helped to generate pro-social activity and inspire hope while developing ideas toward ending LWOP. We believe that no one should be defined by their worst decision in life. These motivated men and women raised money for FUEL, as well as funds for charities dedicated to crime survivors. In addition to money, they have donated beautiful handicraft and high valued art that they created. Inside FUEL have also invited coalition members into prisons to create a sense of unity while vigorously organizing.
FUEL members have launched petitions telling their loved one’s story and appealing to the Governor for clemency. The group also launched a petition on behalf of all serving LWOP and delivered it to Governor Brown in November of 2018 during their Seeking Redemption Rally. Material from men and women in prisons throughout the state were part of the packet given to the Governor. Constantly seeking ways to share the humanity of people serving the “other death penalty” has been the motivation to create individual brochures for the men and women. These have given those serving LWOP and their family members a way to tell their story.
FUEL holds rallies in Sacramento and has directed caravans around prison facilities experiencing high incidents of needless covid deaths. The group has participated in numerous panels, led seminars, co-sponsored Town Halls and held workshops on commutations in the communities and within the prison facilities. We are proud to be co-sponsors, with other powerful groups in the state, of SB 300 a piece of legislation challenging the LWOP sentence.
Among our happiest moments was welcoming the husbands of two of our core members home from serving the unforgiving sentence of LWOP. We fight for that to repeat itself until everyone serving the other death penalty is given the opportunity to come hope. The fight continues!
Added Advocates warn Census Bureau of impending test failure, inaccurate counts of incarcerated people to the Prisoners of the Census Blog. Without testing […]
Added Bad Omens: Reform rollbacks in Washington D.C. are a warning sign for state-level advocates to the Prison Policy Blog. Bills in Congress that repeal bail […]
Added Hunger as punishment: How states restrict SNAP benefits for people on probation to the Prison Policy Blog. A patchwork of statutes and administrative […]
Added Is your local government collaborating with ICE? Here’s how to find out — and push back to the Prison Policy Blog. From the deputization of local […]
In 2007 I, David Cariño, shot and killed two men in self-defense. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. I think and dream about that unfortunate day, wishing I could go back in time and change what I did, but that can never happen. I was 19 years...
When I was a child, I remember having a reoccurring nightmare in which I was trapped in a very small room, where I could not really move around, and I could not escape no matter how hard I fought to free myself. In my dream, I had no idea how I had become trapped in...
My name is Sonny Wong. I am 45 years old, and I have been serving an LWOP sentence for 22 years. I’m a victim of a frame-up, sold out by my trial attorney who colluded with the prosecution in the concealment of exculpatory evidence to convict me in this case. Police...
My name is Chad Rhodes, and I commence my wording by expressing my sincere veneration to all who read this notation in hopes to gain some needed support that’ll be immensely appreciated I am from Oakland, CA, and I am currently serving a Life Without the Possibility...
"Life Without Parole is Slow and Agonizing Death Sentence" I am an incarcerated person who has been serving a life without parole sentence for the past twenty-nine years. At the age of 23 I participated in a robbery that would cause the death of another human being....
My name is Antonio Rosas. When I was 18 years old, I committed a crime that would put me in jail to serve a sentence of Life without the possibility of Parole (LWOP), a fate I would have never predicted. My family and I lived in Porterville and I had a pretty good...