News & Announcements
Television Coverage of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
Two television programs, CBS’s 60 Minutes and NBC’s West Wing, this month gave national exposure to the issue of mandatory minimums. Several U.S. Justice Fund grantees—including Families Against Mandatory Minimums' Eric Sterling, and Soros Justice Senior Fellow Margaret C. Love—were actively involved with the shows, supplying background information, facts, and real-life stories that served as inspiration for the storylines.
“More Than They Deserve,” reported by Ed Bradley, ran on the January 4 edition of 60 Minutes and focused on the growing protests by federal judges against mandatory minimums and overly-harsh drug laws. The January 14 West Wing featured scenes in which President Jed Bartlett, just prior to his State of the Union address, decided whether to veto a popular piece of legislation because it contained an amendment limiting judicial discretion in sentencing, as well as a scene in which he considers commuting the sentences of a number of drug offenders.
