In the searing new documentary The Sentence, we discover that the casualties of the “War on Drugs” extend beyond the millions of Americans harshly punished with prison time—their families suffer the brunt.

About the Filmmaker

Director Rudy Valdez, an American of Mexican descent, began filming his three nieces for his sister Cindy Shank. Why? Because she’d been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Her loving brother, the youngest sibling, wanted Cindy to be able to see the girls grow up. The even greater tragedy is her family’s suffering the pain of living without her. The worst crime is Cindy’s children doing time, also—they grew up without their Mom.
As Valdez began fighting to reduce his sister’s draconian sentence, he discovered that the problem of over-sentencing was much larger than his family’s painful tale. Due to the failed “War on Drugs,” nonviolent first-time offenders, like Cindy, received ghastly punishments because the judge had to adhere to the mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

The Girlfriend Problem

Cops and lawyers have a nickname for Cindy’s all-too-common scenario: The Girlfriend Problem. Cindy’s crime was falling in love with the wrong man.

Although it is not shown in the film, we learn that Cindy lived with Alex Humphrey until 2002, when he was murdered by gunshot right outside their home in Lansing, Michigan. When police searched their home for clues to the murder—which is still unsolved—they found more than 40 pounds of cocaine.
Cindy had attempted to leave Humphrey, but he had threatened her. After his death she was free to move on and straighten out her life. She fell in love with a good man, married him and the couple had three children.

The Arrest

Without giving too much away, the police knocked on the door six years later and arrested Cindy. She was charged as a conspirator because she had known about Humphrey’s drug dealing.
At SVA Theatre this past Wednesday, after a pre-screening of the documentary, filmmaker Valdez said, “We can no longer sit around and be okay with people profiting off the backs of the disenfranchised.”
“It’s the rhetoric we hear: hard on crime or you’re soft on crime…. we need to get rid of that crap. You’re either smart on crime or you’re not,” Valdez said. “This film is apolitical on purpose; it doesn’t go into the history, the right or the left, or who started this, or who’s perpetuating this. It’s a hearts and minds film that transcends voting…. There’s a cultural shift that needs to happen in this country.”

Sundance Film Festival to HBO

The film won the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. HBO purchased the film and will air it Monday, October 15. I suggest putting a box of tissues nearby.

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THE SENTENCE premieres on HBO Monday, October 15, 2018 at 8PM EST. Click here for additional screening times.

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A team of animal rescuers deliver abandoned dogs to a Massachusetts correctional facility where inmates train and prepare the dogs for adoption. Connected by their troubled pasts, the dogs learn to have faith in people again while the inmates learn how to get outside of themselves to be a useful member of society.

I was very touched by the movie and grateful I had the opportunity to sit down with both filmmakers and my favorite “star” in the movie, prisoner Candido Santiago.

Dorri Olds: What were you in prison for?

Candido Santiago: I used to sell drugs. I was young. I was 27 when I went in and came out when I was 37.

Would you say that this dog-training program rehabilitates prisoners?

Yes, it does and in a big way. It depends on the person, too. He has to want to change. For me, I knew I had to take responsibility for my own actions first. I had to stop thinking it was everyone else’s fault. “I’m having a bad day, so it’s society’s fault or my boss’ fault.” I used to use a lot of things as an excuse for my actions. But no one else can dictate your actions. I figured I was a product of my environment so it was OK. I was very ignorant and self-absorbed. I was a little naïve as well. It’s harder to go against the grain.

Do you mean that the people around you were selling drugs, too?

Yes, I used to hang out with a few guys who sold drugs as well. My schedule was going into a club at 10 o’clock at night and staying till it closed, and I just sold drugs. It’s not life. It really isn’t. You’ve gotta watch your back from getting robbed, you’ve gotta watch cops.

Did you carry a gun?

Yes, I did. I was also charged with that.

Did you ever hurt anybody?

No, thankfully, I never did. I kept it because I was in fear of getting hurt.

I asked about the gun because I worry about people with a violent history being around the dogs. Are prisoners vetted first?

They check into all of that for the program. If you had a violent past where you actually hurt someone, like violent domestic abuse or any mistreatment towards animals, they wouldn’t put you in.

Watch an excerpt of this interview:

Were any prisoners asked to leave the program because they became physical with a dog?

No, we were all trained by a woman who was a very good trainer. She taught us to have patience. It took a lot of bribery with treats. Dogs love treats. We persuaded them. Some were skittish, like Sam. He was very afraid. I put half my body in the crate in order to get him to feel comfortable with me. It took time. I didn’t just go in the crate. It took a few days. I would get close, and he would growl. I’d wait. Give it time. I’d walk away, but still talk to him. “Hey, Buddy, don’t worry. I got you.”

Dogs fill a loneliness, right?

Yes, and trust me, I know. Prison is a lonely place. You don’t know when you’re gonna get the next visit or the next letter. In a 10-year period, I saw my parents maybe once a year. Sometimes I wouldn’t see them for a year and a half. They lived in Brooklyn, and I was in the prison in Massachusetts. I understood they had a life. Nothing was going to be put on hold just because I put myself in prison.

What kind of work did you get when you left prison?

I got a construction job. I was very honest. I said, “I was incarcerated for drugs. I was very young and dumb. I made a lot of bad choices that led me to have to go to prison, but I won’t miss a day. I will do whatever it takes to stay [at the job].” [The boss] didn’t judge me. He just said, “Start tomorrow.” I was really blessed.

How long have you been there?

A year. Ever since I got out.

THE FILMMAKERS

Dorri Olds: What was the seed that planted this idea?

Co-Director Brean Cunningham: We were looking for a story that would make people feel better after seeing it. We really wanted to focus on dogs. I started digging around on the Internet and found this program, “Don’t Throw Us Away USA.” I contacted the founder and pitched her the idea of this film and the magic of the human-animal connection. She loved the idea, and the process began with Doug [Seirup] and I going for it.

Watch more excerpts of this interview:

Did this experience change your opinion of prisoners?

Co-Director Douglas Seirup: Absolutely. In the media, all you see are stereotypes. I think it helped not knowing what we were getting into. We didn’t have any reservations. When we first went to the prison to interview inmates, we didn’t bring cameras. We just wanted to establish trust. What made it easy were the dogs. The dogs served as the brokers to our conversations. It was really amazing.

Cunningham: We operated under the glass half-full assumption. Of course, you never forget where you are, which is prison. They’re not all great guys like Candido [Santiago], but where we were, it was minimum security, and we felt it was very humane.

Watch the trailer for “Dogs on the Inside:”

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This morning in South Africa, after the six-month trial of Oscar Pistorius, Judge Thokozile Masipa found the defendant guilty of culpable homicide in the shooting death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. Yesterday, we heard the verdict that he was found not guilty of murder. Today, the judge let the killer leave the court on bail in the custody of his uncle.

This is wrong on so many levels.

Judge Masipa even said the paralympic gold medalist, nicknamed Blade Runner, had not acted reasonably. She said, “I am of the view that the accused acted too hastily and used excessive force.”

Ya think?

His defense has always been that he thought he was shooting an intruder. The judge said instead of picking up a gun, “all the accused had to do was pick up the phone and ring security, or run to the balcony and call for help.” She also called him “a bad witness who was more worried about the impact his answers might cause than the answers themselves.” But she also said that despite his lack of truthfulness, that was not a clear indicator of guilt. C’mon.

So, just like O.J. Simpson, Pistorius seems to be shimmying through a murder conviction based on legal technicalities. I wonder what kind of sentence Pistorius will get for culpable homicide, which is equivalent to manslaughter in the U.S. We won’t know until the sentencing hearing on Oct. 13. Until then, he’s free to go wreak havoc. This is a man with many whoopsies: He “mistakenly” shot a gun in a crowded restaurant, a witness said he saw an enraged Pistorius fire a gun through a car’s sunroof and another charge was possession of illegal ammunition.

Read more…

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