About Us
Advocating
for Justice
and Equity
Confronting Injustice,
Demanding Integrity
Mission: To eradicate the felony murder rule from American law, advocate for those unjustly sentenced, and promote meaningful legal reform.
Vision
We believe every individual has value and purpose and should receive equal and just treatment under the law. We believe the diversity of our communities should enhance and inform our societal values. We believe, by working together, we can create a system of justice based on healing, redemption, and purpose.
Our
Story
From Tragedy to Advocacy
The Felony Murder Elimination Project was founded by Joanne Scheer after her son Anthony was convicted under the felony murder rule and sentenced to life without parole. Joanne’s personal experience with the legal system ignited her determination to abolish the felony murder rule. Through her tireless efforts, the organization has grown into a powerful voice for reform.
Our Board
Laila Aziz
Board Member
Laila Aziz began organizing through prisoner led organizations including the National “Million for Prisoners March for Human Rights” and the state initiative “Amend the 14th.” She also began performing legislative visits through Families United to End LWOP (FUEL) under Geri Silva. She began working on the Senate Resolution for felony murder and was a volunteer signature collector for Prop 57. She worked for 21 years with Metro Community Ministries beginning as a youth advocate, case manager, program manager, and then as the Director of Operations where she contributed to the growth of over 2-million annually through her innovative evidence based program design and grant writing. In 2017 she left Metro and joined Pillars of the Community where she began building power locally to change gang laws and fight against the carceral punishment system. Laila Aziz believes in community building to promote public safety and works within Southeast San Diego, regionally, and statewide to end systemic oppression and build power within the oppressed.
Susan Bustamante
Board Member
Susan Bustamante is a mother of two, grandmother of six, who served thirty-one years of a life without parole sentence before being commuted by Governor Jerry Brown in December of 2017. Susan is a staunch advocate of felony murder reform and ending life without parole sentencing and has lent her invaluable support and insight to Felony Murder Elimination Project’s legislative efforts. She is a member of the Drop LWOP Coalition, DBI Coalition, and California Coalition for Women Prisoners. During her incarceration, Susan co-founded Convicted Women Against Abuse, the first battered women’s program for incarcerated women. She currently works for Home Free as a re-entry coach.
Chyrl Lamar
Board Member
Chyrl Lamar is a Program and Outreach Advocate with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP). Chyrl comes to this work with over 30 years of direct experience with the carceral system, a grassroots abolitionist organization—with members inside and outside prison—that challenges the institutional violence imposed on women, transgender people, and communities of color by the prison system. Chyrl also serves as Peer Mentor/Thought Partner for Unapologetically HERS, Healing Experiences through Research Solutions, supporting women inside with leadership development and systems change. When not advocating, you can find Chyrl listening to music of many genres and crocheting both of which she finds relaxing.
Colby Lenz
Board Member
Colby Lenz is the Deputy Director of Policy and Community Research at the UCLA Center for the Study of Women. Colby has over 20 years of experience in community-engaged research, grassroots organizing, and policy advocacy addressing the intersections of criminalization, incarceration, and gender-based violence. Colby is a co-founder of Survived & Punished, a national organizing project to end the criminalization of survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and a long-term advocate and organizer with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP), and the Transgender Advocacy Group (TAG).
Christina Brown
Board Member
Christina Brown is a mother of three who is system impacted. She began her personal journey into criminal justice reform because of the harshness and injustice of her husband’s sentence. Christina is a co-founder of Bridges of Hope and an organizer with the Drop LWOP Coalition and volunteers with various restorative justice, family reunification coalitions. She has served as liaison and representative for families in her former role as Chair of the Mule Creek State Prison Inmate Family Council and is the former Chair of CDCR Statewide Inmate Family Council.
Our Staff
Joanne Scheer
Founder and executive director
Joanne Scheer is the founder of Felony Murder Elimination Project. When her only child was convicted under the felony murder rule and sentenced to the death sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, she began the work of bringing an end to one of the most heinous of California’s laws. With nothing but the resolve to eliminate a law that so easily and unjustly sentences youth to death, she sponsored Assembly Bill 2195 in 2016, co-sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution 48 in 2017, and co-sponsored Senate Bill 1437 in 2018 which eliminated second-degree felony murder and the natural and probable consequences doctrine. She continues to fight for the elimination of first-degree felony murder and special circumstances. Joanne is also the author of a 2020 CSW Policy Brief on Felony Murder Special Circumstances.
Giuli Mello
Program Manager
Giuli Mello has recently joined FMEP as a Program Manager, but her story with the organization runs much deeper. During her tenure at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Giuli worked closely with our advocates to launch SB 300—one of the most significant policies FMEP has co-sponsored—an experience that profoundly impacted her professional path. After earning a master’s degree in Governance and Policy from the University of Notre Dame, she returns to this work with sharpened skills in policy research and analysis, driven by a renewed dedication to advance sentencing reform alongside system-impacted leadership. As Program Manager, Giuli leads FMEP’s legislative advocacy, data initiatives, coalition-building, project development, restorative justice work, and inside organizing.
Legislative
Efforts
Our organization has led important legislative initiatives to reform the felony murder rule and promote fair sentencing practices in California. Key efforts include:
- AB 2195 (2016)
- SCR 48 (2017)
- SB 1437 (2018)
- SB 300 (2020)
- SB 94 (2022)
- AB 958 (2023)
- AB 2354 (2024)
- AB 938 (2025)
Community Impact
Felony Murder Elimination Project works to unite those who have experienced the devastation of felony murder and their families in a mass movement to repeal these laws.
We connect organizations across the United States who are working to address mass incarceration and extreme sentencing. In 2024, we convened the first national conference of organizations, lawyers, academics, organizers committed to ending the felony murder rule.
Recognition and Media
Our work has been recognized with awards and has garnered significant media attention. These recognitions underscore the importance and impact of our efforts in the fight for justice.
