WOMAN RELEASED FROM PRISON BY CLINTON TURNS TO LOBBYING

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- A Mobile woman released from a 19-year prison sentence
by former President Clinton has joined lobbyists fighting the Justice
Department's minimum mandatory sentencing rules.

Dorothy Gaines met with senators in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday and
planned to speak Thursday at Georgetown University on behalf of Families
Against Mandatory Minimums. She plans to start a Mobile chapter of FAMM.

FAMM contends Congress should give federal judges discretion in drug cases.
More than 79,000 people are in federal prisons for drug offenses, up 38
percent since mandatory minimum sentences were introduced in 1986.

"A lot of the people who are in prison don't need to be there for the
length of time they're serving," said Julie Stewart, FAMM president. "The
punishment needs to fit the crime. "

Clinton in December commuted Gaines' 19-year prison sentence for a cocaine
conspiracy conviction, her first offense. Deputy Attorney General Eric
Holder Jr. had taken personal interest in Gaines' case.

"I can't believe I'm here," Gaines said as she walked the halls of
Congress. "This was my dream when I was incarcerated, to be able to come
here and do this."

Gaines, 42, was convicted in 1994. The prosecution's case rested on the
testimony of admitted drug dealers who cooperated with the government for
reduced sentences.

Gaines always maintained her innocence. She was given 19 years under
federal sentencing guidelines for the amount of drugs she was accused of
helping to sell.

Gaines, who has two children, lives with her daughter, Natasha, and is
looking for full-time work.

FAMM enlisted Gaines and 11 other recently released inmates to lobby and
speak on the sentencing issue.

Gaines flew from Mobile to Washington on Tuesday with her 17-year-old
daughter Chara.

They attended a FAMM banquet Tuesday night, then Wednesday visited the
offices of Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.; Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; and
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.

Conyers, who appeared at a news conference Wednesday with Gaines and the
other former inmates, said President Bush has promised to take a fresh look
at mandatory-minimum sentences.