The Sentence spotlights a mother’s loss of time to prison, calling attention to sentencing reform

The Sentence reveals an emotional look at the justice system’s effect on one American family as well as a strong call for sentencing reform.

HBO’s The Sentence spotlights a very real issue with mandatory minimum sentencing in the United States. These sentences often put non-violence drug offenders behind bars for years, sometimes even decades.

Cindy Shank is the focus of The Sentence, a mother of three daughters with her husband, Adam. In 2007, Shank was prosecuted on conspiracy charges connected to her deceased ex-boyfriend’s crimes as a drug dealer.

Long before her children and marriage, Shank was in a relationship with a man named Alex. During their relationship, Alex stored drug paraphernalia and guns in his home. When her boyfriend was killed, the police visited his home and found Shank, who expressed she was not involved with drugs or her boyfriend’s murder. At the time, the police didn’t arrest her. That event came years later, once Cindy had her family and was bettering herself. She was charged with Conspiracy, and due to mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, Shank was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

Her story is being told now by her brother and filmmaker Rudy Valdez. If the idea of a mother of three young girls going to jail isn’t already emotional, the idea that she essentially will miss watching her children grow up is one of many agonizing issues brought upon by mandatory minimum sentencing. Valdez shot footage of how his family coped with his sister’s imprisonment, as well as her hopes and efforts to obtain clemency.

The difficult fact that’s expressed in this film is Cindy Shank is guilty of conspiracy, knowing of criminal acts but not doing anything to report them. Valdez and the rest of Shank’s family makes it very clear they’re aware of this.

However, The Sentence is not meant to focus on guilt. It instead turns its eye on justice, and how Cindy Shank’s 15 year sentence is seen as unfair, and in many ways, punishes her and her family. Valdez’s documentary shines light not only on his sister’s experiences but his own advocating for sentencing reform.

The film doesn’t just focus on family, including also voices of experts, litigators and more to explain Shank’s situation and the problematic history of mandatory-minimum sentencing laws. These laws are seen by some as controversial due to the favoring of strict rules instead of more individualized sentencing, and have had a particularly negative effect on sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

Still, it is the scenes of Shank’s family and how her sentencing impacts all of them that is the most difficult to watch, and most enlightening to learn from. There is somewhat of a happy ending to The Sentence, in that President Barack Obama granted Shank clemency just before the holidays in 2016.

Still, that is nine years of time lost forever for Cindy Shank and her family.

Watch a trailer for The Sentence here:

The Sentence airs on HBO on October 15 at 7 p.m. CT.