TWO JUDGES LIVING THE HIGH LIFE AFTER GETTING KICKBACKS
FROM A PRIVATE DETENTION CENTER WHERE SOME FIRST-TIME
JUVENILE OFFENDERS WERE SENTENCED, ON ABC NEWS' "20/20"
Plus: Why Did a Cop Who Helped Put a Woman in Prison for Murdering
Her Father Try So Hard to Get Her Out?
And: Elizabeth Vargas' Exclusive Interview with Candy Spelling
It was a conspiracy some call "the most egregious abuse of power in the history of the American legal system." Jim Avila reports on how two judges from Pennsylvania got rich by receiving more than two million dollars in kickbacks from a privately run detention center, even as some juvenile offenders were being sent away to the center for months. Some kids, often first-time offenders, claim they were sent away for minor offenses and that their parents were never advised that they should have a lawyer during hearings, which often lasted only a few minutes. Avila's report airs on "20/20" on FRIDAY, MARCH 27 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.
Plus: Stacey Lannert shot and killed her father when she was just 18 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At the time prosecutors argued that it was a cold-blooded killing with greed as the motive. But over a dozen years later, the cop who took her confession � but did not testify at her trial � and some members of the jury that convicted her said the punishment did not fit the crime. Lannert and her supporters claimed that years of sexual abuse by her father provoked her violent action, and for that reason her sentence was too severe. Just this January, the governor of Missouri agreed. The report also includes Lannert's reunion with the detective who originally convinced her to confess on videotape and then spoke out on her behalf for a reduced sentence. ABC News Anchor Cynthia McFadden continues her reporting.
And: In her first interview in conjunction with the release of her new book, "Stories from Candyland," Candy Spelling speaks candidly to Elizabeth Vargas about the alleged feud with her daughter, Tori, her relationship status with her grandchildren, and life as the wife of Aaron Spelling. She also gives "20/20" an exclusive look inside her much-talked-about estate in Los Angeles, including the 17,000 square foot attic that has never been seen publicly before.
"20/20" is anchored by Elizabeth Vargas and John Stossel. David Sloan is executive producer.
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