The videos helping people get lighter sentences - BBC News

In the US, people accused of crimes are turning to film producers to help show their lives in a different light.

10 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Legal Aid SocietyImage caption, Nicole Mull of Legal Aid and filmmaker David Simpson make a mitigation video for a clientBy Tom BrookNew York reporterIn the US, people accused of crimes are turning to short documentary-style videos about their lives to try and persuade judges, juries and prosecutors to look beyond the charges and see them as whole people deserving of redemption, and even leniency.

Augusta "Gussy" Clay has a sweet look as he sits with a child on his knee. Tanisha, his partner of 16 years, sings his praises. There are also pictures of "Gussy" in happier times in a playground with children and on the beach on a sunny day. He appears as a loving young man and someone who is cared for by those close to him.

All these images come not from a recording of a family get-together but from a mitigation video, a new digital tool that US public defenders are using to persuade judges to have empathy for their clients.

Produced with a high degree of professionalism, the videos can help tell an accused person's life story, providing additional context and presenting them in the best possible light. They're not like glossy Hollywood movies, but they can involve the use of music and elaborate production techniques. Others, like the one telling Augusta Clay's story, are more straightforward.

Clay had pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in the third degree, a low-level felony, and he was serving a 12-month sentence in New York City's notorious Rikers Island Prison for violating his parole.