The Sentence, currently airing on HBO, is a heart-rending documentary by first-time director Rudy Valdez about the American criminal justice system and the devastating impact of mandatory minimum sentences. Cindy Shank, Valdez’s sister, who had no prior criminal history, made a youthful mistake: She fell in love and lived with a man who dealt cocaine. The boyfriend was shot and killed during a police raid. Shank was not initially charged, but several years later, after she had married and was raising her family, she was charged with conspiracy and convicted under federal statute and handed a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. Shank served nine years of the 15-year sentence in three different prisons. Valdez makes his sister’s ordeal personal — but at the same time universal — capturing the impact on her three daughters, her spouse, her brothers and her parents. Valdez and Shank spoke recently with the Santa Barbara Independent. What follows is an edited version of the conversation.
When I watched your film, I thought, this is a political film about America’s failed, endless War on Drugs, but you focus on the personal while also speaking to a universal experience. Was this a conscious choice on your part?
Yes, very much so. I wanted to make as apolitical a film as possible. I didn’t feel the need to attack either political party about the issue of mandatory sentencing or mass incarceration. There are people on both sides who understand that we have a problem. I wanted people to relate on a personal level more than a political level.