Dorothy Gaines was an Alabama nurse with no prior record and no physical evidence of any drugs who was sentenced to 19 years. The only evidence against her was the testimony of admitted drug dealers who received reduced sentences in exchange for naming co-conspirators. How we got here. We hear the history of why these drug laws were enacted from a firsthand witness. Eric Sterling was the lawyer in charge of drug laws for the House Judiciary Committee during the 1980's, when mandatory minimums were put in place.
Judges give their opinions of the drug sentencing laws.
Terry Hatter is the Chief U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California. Judge Morris Lasker, of the Southern District of New York, a veteran of over 30 years on the bench, stopped hearing drug cases for several years. 86 percent of federal judges believe the current guidelines need to be loosened. A night in drug court. To find out, reporter Nancy Updike spent nine hours in Night Narcotics Court in Chicago.