Cindy Shank’s story is heartbreaking on every level. A young mother of three answers the door and is sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes she did not actually commit.
The results are devastating to behold. However, Rudy Valdez’s new film, The Sentence, turns out to be the ultimate story of how to make lemonade out of the bitterest of lemons.
In his critically acclaimed film The Sentence, Rudy Valdez tackles “the girlfriend problem”. The girlfriend problem came about as a side effect of our nation’s war on drugs when the federal government enacted new laws dealing with conspiracy. These laws gave federal prosecutors the ability to extend their reach and prosecute individuals under newly developed federal minimum sentencing. This means that no matter what the situation, what the circumstances, you are just a number, plugged into a formula and a “sentence” is spit out. The unintended casualties of this unprecedented reach by federal prosecutors continue to be low-level offenders, often-times minimally or unknowingly involved and the wives and girlfriends of those accused of federal drug-related crimes. These women are prosecuted for drug trafficking charges and can receive sentences that exceed or double what the actual drug traffickers received. Cindy Shank, whose life is the focus of The Sentence, was one of those “girlfriends”.
In Cindy’s case, it was 15 years for crime(s) she did not actually commit. As it happens, six years after the federal prosecutors dismissed charges against her for not informing the police of illegal activities her then-boyfriend was involved in, Shank, married and a mother to three girls, the youngest of which was a mere 6 weeks old, was arrested, charged with four felonies, including conspiracy, and sentenced to 15 years in jail as a result of these federal mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines. Amazingly enough, the prosecutor asked she be sentenced to 89 years, even though Cindy had never even had so much as a speeding ticket. The judge refused to issue such an insane order. Especially in light of the fact that Cindy had never had so much as a speeding ticket, and most importantly the actual perpetrator (Cindy’s ex-boyfriend) had passed away years before she was arrested. However, due to the sentencing guidelines, the judge was forced to sentence her to the minimum, 15 years in prison.
As luck (or tragedy) would have it, Cindy’s brother Rudy Valdez captured every heartbreaking minute in his film The Sentence. By all accounts, The Sentence is a harrowing look at how Cindy’s life fell apart via the actions of her then deceased boyfriend, and the devastating effects the draconian sentence had on her family and three young children. However, The Sentence goes one step further and ask viewers to answer one simple question, WHY?
As Rudy Valdez put it “Why was a family ripped apart for such an arbitrary number of years? Why does the federal mandatory sentencing guidelines take away the judicial system’s ability? To see everyone as an individual? Perhaps they are a flawed person, but they are still a person that deserves to be looked at as an individual and sentenced accordingly.” Instead, judges are forced to apply the mandatory with devastating results. Valdez goes on to say, “often-times I find that most people have no idea that this takes place, or if they know about the sentencing guidelines, the people in charge can’t actually say why this is happening. And it’s not just my sister, there are hundreds of thousands of “Cindy’s” going through the same thing, sometimes in situations that are even worse. I started this film as a labor of love because I wanted to make sure my sister didn’t miss seeing my nieces grow up. It turned into something more as I would watch my footage. I decided I wanted to show the world who is really affected by the sentencing guidelines. They are the families and children left behind”.
True to his word, Valdez is now taking his fight to Capitol Hill to push for reform on a national scale. Valdez goes on to say, “two days after airing the film at Sundance a Republican Senator (Mike Lee, (R-Utah)) reached out to me the say ‘thank you for making this movie’. Valdez continues “you know, this is not a party issue, this film is apolitical, both Republicans and Democrats are coming together to fix this broken issue. I’ve been invited to speak many times on Capitol Hill, to share what I know with legislatures, to put a face on the victims, and show the effects of the federal minimum sentencing guidelines. Hopefully, by opening their eyes to the devastating effects of the federal minimum sentencing guidelines, it will help our lawmakers craft even more new legislation that actually gives Federal judges the ability to dole out fair and just punishment, with an emphasis on rehabilitation. Judges should not be forced to issue sentencing minimums that often-times destroy lives with no rhyme or reason.”
It should be noted that Lee and Booker both pushed the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act which will reduce sentences, in addition to granting federal judges the much-needed autonomy in sentencing some non-violent and lower-level drug crimes. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act passed 16-5 in the Senate Judiciary Committee this year, with overwhelming bi-partisan support. And in this political climate that is no small feat.
Valdez goes on to note that Senator Lee, along with Democratic Senator Corey Booker (D-N.J.) “actually took the film to Capitol Hill to educate and teach everyone involved in creating the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act about the effects of the minimum guidelines. Everyone from Senators, their aides, to advocates. No matter which party they were associated with, they watched this film and used the knowledge in it to help make the system better. The Sentence bought together both aisles. An apolitical film about such an important issue made them all come together. I’m proud of that.”
Indeed, Valdez has much to be proud of. Most importantly the change his documentary about how federal minimum sentencing guidelines affected his sister, which started out as a labor of love and blossomed into a critically acclaimed film, has made and will continue to make a difference in the lives of so many.