this is "nightline." >> tonight, justice served? a truck driver sentenced to 110 years for a deadly crash. >> i watched those poor men burn to death. it's not something you forget. >> now the social media outrage over the lengthy prison time and the calls for clemency. >> he now knows this is not only a fight for himself but a fight for justice for a lot of people. >> why some say the punishment fits the crime. plus, the rescue. the never before seen footage from the improbable mission to save the young soccer team trapped in a cave in thailand. >> it was to me an unbelievable moment.

>> reporte >> from the oscar winning film maker. >> "nightline" will be right back. tums vs. mozzarella stick when heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast heartburn relief in every bite. crunchy outside, chewy inside. ♪ tums, tums, tums, tums ♪ tums chewy bites

zwood evening. thank you for joining us. it's not after that prosecutors ask a defendant be given a

lesser punishment than what a court has handed down. a former truck driver receiving 110 years for causing a fiery crash that killed four people. now a court may soon have to decide if that punishment is just. here's abc's kailee hartung.ng.. >> walking around without an arm and a leg on one side. he was truly that much of a part of my heart. >> reporter: a wife, widowed after losing her husband in a 2019 highway crash. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: a mother whose truck driver son faces a lifetime in prison after being convicted of causing that crash. all part of a complicated case that's gained national attention and launched a conversation about mandatory minimum sentencing. in october, rogel aguilera-mederos was found guilty on 27 points, including

vehicular homicide and vehicular assault after his semi truck plowed into several cars in 2019, leaving four people dead and many more injured. earlier this month, a district court judge handing down a 110-year sentence for aguilera-mederos, saying colorado's mandatory minimums forced his hand because certain crimes require sentences to be seved consecutively rather than concurrently. >> they decided to make it more even. i think originally it worked. i think now it's gone to the other side, though. now the judges have used that as basically hey, my hands are tied. >> i think this case is a watershed moment and two major questions need to be asked. one, why is the legislature giving the prosecution so much discretion in prosecuting these cases? and the other question, why aren't we giving judges more discretion? so the legislature needs to re-evaluate the mandatory minimums. >> reporter: the sentence raising eye yous for some.

kim kardashian using her star power to draw attention to the case, saying, this is so unfair. nearly 5 million people have signed an online petition, asking for the controversial sentence to be reduced. but for some of the crash survivors and the loved ones of those who died, there has been a sense of closure, including for gauge evans. >> for people to recognize that he was responsible for killing my husband gave me the chance to breathe. >> reporter: in an expedited hearing, the district attorney asking for the sentencing to reconsidered to only 20 to 30 years in prison, a dramatic shift in position. >> this is an exceptional case. and it requires an exceptional process. >> there was a truck driver in kansas that killed five people and got five years. so when you look at 110 years, you look at what the d.a. is saying 20 to 30 years, it just doesn't add up. my client feels bad for those victims. but at the same time, we've got to fight for what's right and

just. >> reporter: aguilera-mederos' family petitioning the colorado governor for clemency. the league of united latin american citizens joining the fight. >> the gross miscarriage of justice, the malicious prosecution of the weaponization of a prosecutor's office to get 110 years on a man who was just a simple truck driver, no prior record, wasn't drinking. the brakes failed. but for being a latino immigrant, the charges wouldn't have been filed. >> reporter: the d.a.'s office did not comment about racial bias, but said the sentence, which our office requested the minimum for, reflects the judgment of the legislature. it was april 25th, 2019, when his truck caused a fiery pileup, involving nearly 40 cars. and about 100 witnesses. killed that day was william

bailey, 67. doyle harrison, 61, and stanley polotano, 69. police say aguilera-mederos was going nearly twice the speed limit. but he claimed his brakes failed, causing him to lose control and slam into dozens of stopped cars. multiple poor decisions, noting that he could have steered his truck on a runaway ramp but didn't. prosecutors now asking for input from survivors and loved ones of the victims whether they think the sentence should be reduced. >> 110 years. my heart flipped. i was expecting 30 years. >> i watched those four men burn to death, and that's not something you forget. >> reporter: valley robertson-young was a witness to the crash. >> he had no concern for any of the victims or no concern for my of the people he hurt. his only concern is that he was

going to go to jail. >> it's frustrating that people think that he's the victim. >> reporter: alison was 15 years old and just learning to drive when she was caught in the pileup. the debate over the sentence opening up old wounds. >> after the trial, i thought it was all over. and then with social media bringing it up again, i feel as if nobody understands the full case. and that's really painful for people to talk about from a perspective that they don't completely understand. >> i think of clemency being for someone who has truly owned their responsibility in thaeir crime. and i do believe he is sorry. but he hasn't owned up to his responsibility that made it happen. >> the question becomes, who is responsible for how we prosecute these cases so that this doesn't come up, why wasn't this prosecuted in a way that would find peace and solace for everyone, including the victim's

families? >> reporter: the prosecution did have to issue a statement after a member of the team posted a photo on social media of a troef f -- trophy, celebrating the conviction. >> reporter: the post was taken down, and the d.a. responded saying the brake shoe was not a piece of evidence and that the post was in very poor taste and did not reflect the values of her administration. >> it matters who the district attorney is. it matters who the judges are. it matters who your state legislators are. because these type of laws, these type of charges, these type of outcomes could happen to anybody. >> reporter: in colorado, sentence reductions for violent crimes can't go into effect until 119 days after conviction. >> hopefully the judge understands the ramifications of the case. and i think the governor is taking a look at making a rapid

decision. he has 14 days for clemency that's been filed by lawyers to make a decision on his own. so we think something will probably happen by the end of january. >> the reduction of september tensing from 110 years to 20 or 30 is almost unheard of. but we may see something actually come from this request. >> reporter: the next court date is scheduld for january 13th. until then, we're waiting for a mother desperate to help her son. >> reporter: and more drawn-out pain for the survivors and loved ones left behind. >> all the choices he made, he made the wrong choice every time. every time. that's why we're here today. not because it was an accident, but because he made choices that caused it. and that's what people need to hear. >> our thanks to kailee. up next, incredible and improbable thai cave rescue.

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♪ ♪ tequila herradura. extraordinary awaits. the world watched in anticipation in 2018 as a team of rescuers battled the clock in an ending danger to reach a young soccer team trapped in a cave in thailand. oscar buzz.ntary that's getting- ♪ ♪ >> reporter: it was an unbelievable story. 12 i dos and their soccer coach trapped for weeks in an

underwater cave in thailand. their chances of survival dwindling by the hour, as their desperate families clung to hope. >> reporter: monsoon rains outside, and decreasing oxygen levels inside. the impossible task of figuring out a viable rescue plan fell into the hands of a rag tag team of rescue divers. with the whole world watching. >> there's a thousand questions going through your mind, because you never have all the information. >> reporter: but ten days after the team went missing, john and fellow rescuer rick stanton discovered them all alive. >> how many of you? >> 15. >> you're a father yourself. what was that moment like for

you? >> finding the boys was, for me, an unbelievable moment. there's a part in the audio where i'm saying, believe. believe. i was talking to myself. i wasn't particularly talking to the boys. and yet, suddenly, the situation changes completely. and now, we're responsible for a dozen children. >> reporter: defying all expectations, every single team member was brought out alive over three days. the pain staking process revealed in the new documentary, "the rescue." >> i told him it was a horrible idea. rick said, what if the it's the only idea? >> what did you feel like you could show that the rest of the world hadn't already seen? >> there was no footage from inside the cave, very little known footage. >> i couldn't get him breathing again with the mask on.

>> people didn't have a sense of the moral dilemma that they were faced with. and the kind of impossible decisions that they had to make. >> reporter: through interviews, never before seen footage and re-enactments, "the rescue" shows what they faced. getting lost in caves, even sedating the children so they would be conscious and still. under water. >> it felt like euthanasia to me. >> they really had everything to lose, if they failed, their lives would have been ruined.... >> reporte >> i remember both of us just being transfixed by this story, maybe it's because we have two asian children, maybe because we're parents or just ruemans. but this idea of how so many different people came together to achieve something impossible was an idea that stuck with us

for a long time. >> reporter: making free solo, an elite climber's attempt to scale 3,000 feet of vertical rock without any rocks or harnesses presented obvious challenges. but jimmy and chai say "the rescue" was even more complicated. >> it was the hardest film i've ever made. >> how come? >> there was a rights situation between two stud yoios. >> and some of the most critical footage was held by the thai navy s.e.a.l.s and they denied us for almost two years. >> reporter: to come sen tapens the lack of footage, they decided to film with the actual rescuers in england. >> he will tell you i refused to act. i don't believe cave divers make very good actors. but we did re-create the scenes. we would simply do what we did

in thailand with the exact same equipment in conditions that were as close as could be replicated. >> every single critical moment in the film, be it dr. harrison putting the children to sleep, finding the children for the first time, the kid's first meal, all of that material is real. so the re-enactments are like the tissue that attaches the joints. >> reporter: then just seven months before the film's release, the thai navy s.e.a.l.s agree to provide the footage. >> i have to give her a lot of credit. >> what was on that drive that you worked so hard to get? >> it was like a documentary miracle. these meetings, footage of the children in the cave. we're like oh, my gosh, there are 200 people that are hand passing a child on a stretcher over a kilometer. >> reporter: now available on disney plus, the streaming

platform for abc news' parent company, disney, it made the short list for best documentary feature. >> free solo won best documentary in 2019. is there pressure in this? >> the awards are like magic. you don't understand the ingredients that went into it, but the pressure is more than we realize where people will watch the films. >> thank you, national geographic, for believing in us. and for hiring women and people of color, because they all help make the films better. >> i think we've been living through black lives matter, api movement, like representation really matters and this is our job. that said, the ultimate pressure i feel with making a nonfiction film is to those who decide to trust us with their stories. did i do the right thing? >> they say their commitment to trust is what makes them

successful at work and at home. >> that really helps the film making and allows us to be expansive. we're kind of a traveling road show, with the kids and speaking chinese. we just try our best. >> i want to show you just from 2003, she won best documentary. that same year jim way was voted top 25 bachelors. amazing. >> jimmy says his dream girl is someone with drive and fire, intelligence is important. athleticism would be nice. does that describe chai to you? >>yeah, it does. that is really funny. she was already well on her way as a filmmaker, and i was a full climbing ski bum. >> reporter: but that ski bum was taking photos for publications like "national geographic." many featured in his first photo book.

now, a "new york times" best seller. >> what is easier for you putting together a doc or a photo book? >> they're both very painful, we call it type ii fun. it's fun when you're done and it's over. i don't think anything great comes without some sacrifice and some suffering. >> reporter: a sentiment that resonates loudly with john, especially during the most stressful moments of the underwater rescue. >> it seemed to us at the time there was very little more that we could do. and yes, for a short period of time, i certainly lost hope. and that's something that won't happen again. if everybody pitched in and did whatever they could, whatever that might be, and hopefully the world would be a better place. >> up next, how south plans to honor one of its sons who inspired the world.

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finally tonight, south africa and the world are in mourning, for a man of justice and peace. the bells of st. george's

cathedral in capetown ringing out at noon all this week in honor of nobel peace prize laureate archbishop desmond tutu. the 90-year-old died of cancer sunday. he was a driving force against the racist apartheid regime. his funeral will take place saturday in his former cathedral. due to covid protocols, it will be limited to 100 people. and that's "nightline" for this evening. see you right back here tomorrow, same time. thanks for the company, america. good night.