The Power of Radio

On 22 November, 1999, the radio program This American Life reported a story about Dorthy Gaines, a mother of three who was convicted of drug trafficking in federal court, after Alabama state court had dismissed the case as there was no evidence of drugs, drug paraphernalia, or any drug related activity, as well as the fact that Ms. Gaines had no prior offenses. The original arrest happened after a convicted felon gave Dorthy Gaines' name as a co-conspirator in order to reduce his sentence.

In federal court, Ms. Gaines was sentenced to 19 years and 7 months in prison.

On the show, the story ended with Ms. Gaines losing her last court appeal, though she had not yet told her children. She said that she was going to try the last resort of last resorts. She was to make a direct appeal to President Clinton.

On 22 December, 2000, a year and a month after the original broadcast, President Clinton signed off on Dorthy Gaines' clemency.

Radio is a powerful tool.

Ira Glass, host of This American Life, reminds us that "nearly 2/3rds of all federal drug offenders across the country have never been convicted of a violent crime, 40% are first time offenders. It's 10s of thousands of people... In the end, (Dorthy Gaines') 19-year prison term was higher than the federal mandatory minimum sentence for rape, for kidnapping, for running a slave trade, for criminal sexual abuse of a child, for second degree murder, or for conspiracy to commit murder. Her sentence had the same minimum as she would have gotten if she would have hijacked a plane, or bought and sold children for use in child pornography."


For information on This American Life, visit http://www.thislife.org/.

For information on Dorthy Gaines, visit her website: http://dorothygaines.org/