Jim Gray was a Superior Court judge in Orange County, California. You don't want to argue with him about whether mass incarceration for nonviolent drug offenses is a good idea. You'll lose. This is part of the SafeKeepers video series produced by the Beyond Bars campaign and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

For my 6th day of gratitude, on this most family-est of weekends, I'm thankful for Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) and other individuals and organizations working to minimize the destruction of the War on Drugs.

Mandatory minimum sentences separate innocent children from their non-violent fathers (and mothers) for decades and are used to strong-arm the wrongfully accused into accepting plea bargains. As former drug warrior, federal prosecutor, Superior Court Judge, JAG, and VP candidate Judge Jim Gray says of mandatory minimums:

"Our system is not supposed to be so enormously coercive to push people into abandoning their rights to a jury trial, and the mandatory minimum sentences get that to happen. I think it’s simply wrong, fundamentally unfair, fundamentally unjust under our system, and I think they should be changed.

This Thanksgivukkah, I'm sharing eight points of light in what sometimes seems to be a dark and troubled world. Stay tuned for more worthy causes to support on #GivingTuesday (or any time of year).

#8daysofgratitude