this is night line. >> tonight, locked up for life. is they boys are growing up as their father sits in a prison for 55 years. a man who's sentenced for petty, nonviolent crime, a sentence so harsh even the judge who imposed it said it haunts him. >> if he'd been a rapist it would be 11 years. here's he's getting 55 years. >> the fight to change the law that tied that judge's hands. unlocking the secrets of flavor. there is a reason why, with some foods, we simply cannot help ourselves. the discovery about your taste buds and how this man is now using what he knows about human cravings to build a luxury burger empire. >> oh, so juicy. first -- the "nightline 5"."

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good evening. we've all heard the expression, don't do the crime if you can't do the time. the man you're about to meet is serving 55 years for selling weed while carrying a gun. he'd be doing less time if he were a murderer or a terrorist.

he's in this position because of a law that credit ins say is wasting lives and your tax dollars. here's my "nightline" coanchor byron pitt. >> reporter: treasured old photos spread across a kitchen table. a family taking me on a trip down memory lane. >> that's like one of those "leave it to beaver" shots. >> reporter: here in the angelo house, pain and anger amidst laughter. >> what are some of those things? that you wish you could have done with your father? >> played basketball together. could have been here for my 16th birthday. >> reporter: 17-year-old jesse and 18-year-old anthony have been haven't seen their father in seven years. their dad is in federal prison two states away. >> bitter because of that? sad, angry? some of all the above? >> mostly sad. and then anger after. sad because there's nothing i could do about it. angry that they shouldn't have

done that to him. >> it's okay. >> reporter: today marks a bitter anniversary. 11 years to the day since their father weldon angelos, was sent to prison for 55 years. his crime, carrying a gun and selling 24 ounces of pot. >> what do you think of the law that sent your brother away for 55 years? >> i don't think it makes any sense. it's like pennies' worth of marijuana. how could somebody be doing life for that? >> reporter: since congress created mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related cripes in the 1980s the federal prison population has quadrupled in size. from 58,000 prisoners to over 210,000. many, like weldon angelos, serving decades or more for nonviolent offenses. salt lake city, 2002. weldon angelos was a 22-year-old aspiring music producer and father of two young boys. he founded his own recording company, eventually

collaborating with big names like snoop dogg. angelos also got involved with selling pot. the police caught wind. they set up three stings buying about $1,000 worth of marijuana from angelos. during the deals police say angelos had a gun in his possession. the critical detail that made this case so extreme. the case went to federal court. angelos was convicted. >> mindless is a good word. >> reporter: under the law, judge paul cassell was forced to do something that burdens him still. >> do you think about him? >> i do think about angelos. i drive on the interstate by the prisoner what he's held. i think, that wasn't the right thing to do and the system forced me to do it. >> reporter: under federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws angelos was facing 55 years for the gun and marijuana charges combined. he was a first-time offender. >> mandatory minimum is a sentence that says the judge has to impose a particular minimum number of years. it ties the judge's hands. >> it was designed during the reagan administration's war on

drugs to send a message, right, to drug dealers this won't be tolerated. >> so mandatory minimums can be used to send a message. but at some point the message gets lost. >> reporter: paul cassell has since retired from the bench to teach law but says the angelos case weighs on him. the reason he agreed to speak about his ruling, something federal judges almost never do if he had been an aircraft hijacker he would have gotten 24 years in prison. if he'd been a terrorist, he would have gotten 20 years in prison. if he was a child rapist, he would have gotten 11 years in prison. i'm supposed to give him a 55-year sentence? that's just not right. >> what does the angelos case and others say about minimum sentencing laws in the kun re? >> we need to change them. most of the time our criminal justice system works well but there are cases it fails and the angelos case is a prime example. >> reporter: appointed to the bench by george w. bush cassell believes angelos isn't the only one paying a high and

unreasonable cost for these laws. >> i thought the sentence wasn't just unjust to angelos but unjust to the taxpayers. >> reporter: it costs $29,000 to keep one person in federal prison per year. angelos' bill after 55 years will be $1.5 million. the price his family will pay -- untold. just ask his sister lisa. >> it's hard. i just keep telling him, we're going to keep fighting we won't stop at anything. >> reporter: she's made good on that running petitions, filing appeals, testifying before congress. but lisa knows only an order from president obama can help set her brother free. >> right now our only hope that we have is a commutation from president obama. >> reporter: in the angelos family there's hope. in waiting around for the phone to ring the weekly call from prison. >> this call is from weldon an gel lows, inmate at a federal prison. >> how are you doing today? >> i'm doing okay. >> reporter: weldon angelos is 35 years old. >> i never thought in my lifetime this could actually

happen. especially in america. >> reporter: phone calls like these, his only link to his boys now nearly men themselves. >> everyone we've talked to has said they feel like your sentence is outrageous. the judge called it a crime that you're there. how does that make you feel? do you get frustrated angry? >> it's difficult to understand. i mean -- i feel my sentence was definitely unnecessary. and a 55-year sentence is not going to do anything more than a five or ten-year sentence would have done. >> what parts of this experience have been hardest for you? >> basically missing out on my sons' lives. i was super close to my sons. not being able to be with them as they grow just kind of hits me the hardest. >> reporter: beneath the teenage swagger we discover two sensitive sons. wounded souls. just watch as they watch this old family home movie. >> give me a kiss right here. kiss right here. aww! >> reporter: the sound of their father's voice both reassuring

and heartwrenching. >> i notice both you guys perked up when you heard your dad's voice. what are you thinking? >> just being around them you can feel their heartache. even through their laughter. it's really been hard for them. >> when he teared up, you teared up. >> yeah. it was really hard to see that. i know how bad he hurts. and seeing what they have gone through by losing their father -- it's just emotionally destroyed me. >> reporter: there are literally thousands of families in america like the angelos tonight. mindful a price should be paid for breaking the law, but asking, pleading how high should that price be? for "nightline," i'm byron pitts in salt lake city, utah. >> after that story, what's your view on mandatory minimums? go to our facebook page and join the conversation. coming up here on "nightline," the secret this man

says he learned about our taste buds that is howing him to make millions on pumpkin latte burgers. and later, why kevin costner believes he's about to hit yet another hollywood home run with "mcfarland usa." when you've got somebody that's got your back. having chantix as a partner made it more successful. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix helped reduce my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some people had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix or history of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems or develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking

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tonight, a little culinaried a ver tour. and it stars a guy who believes he's tapped into a secret of human craving. the reason some of our favorite foods are so addictive. and he's using this knowledge to build a luxury burger empire. here's abc's nick watt. >> reporter: i love hamburgers. >> so juicy! >> reporter: cannot get enough many they reserve them. and cheese soy sauce, truffles pizza, fried onions fried chicken. and i'm not alone, far from it. millions of us are, i thought, inex inexplicable drawn to food like pringles. why are we drawn? umami, that's why, the wood behind a foodie phenomenon. >> a lot of the fine dining restaurants, food is packed with

imami. >> reporter: it's making this guy, adam fleishman, millions. >> i'd like to think i know what imami is but i don't. enlighten me? >> sure. a lot of people think it's theoretical or an idea about cooking. but it really is an actual thing. >> reporter: a mysterious, rich savory thing found in foods we crave most. fleishman, former finance guy, one-time wine expert has built a burger empire on that taste called umami. >> you are selling how many burgers now? >> $1 million a week in burgers. >> how many restaurants? >> 25-ish. i lost track. >> you lost track. >> reporter: armed with umami, japanese for "delicious," fleishman has muscled his way into a crowded luxury burger market. five guys five napkins. he's in l.a. vegas, chicago, and new york. the newest flash man umami experiment? >> wow. chicken and biscuits.

>> reporter: a chocolate fried chicken. >> that must freak some people out. >> it freaks out a lot of people. we just tell them to come in and try it. it works. >> yeah. that's good. . you started out with a sort of rabbit hole geek interest in umami. >> yes. >> then looked for a delivery vehicle? >> correct. and my first idea was pizza. but pizza required special ovens and training. so i started working with burgers. >> reporter: turns out the burger might be the perfect delivery vehicle for umami-packed foods. parmesan cheese, onions, mushroom, ketchup, and a secret umami dust. rumor has it there are dried-up fish heads in there, which i love. from here he's gone serious off-piece creative. >> we wanted to create a burger that tasted like pumpkin spice lay day but also stood on its own as a burger.

>> reporter: what exactly is umami and why do we crave it? >> human breast milk has eight times more glchlt lutemates delivering umami than cow's milk. from infancy, our first meal we're getting a rich umami taste we carry the rest of our lives. >> reporter: recently recognized by western science as the taste results of fit and sour discovered in 1908 by a japanese chemist, whose achievement was immortalized by a company he founded. >> that night my husband began his quest for the taste. >> reporter: he figured out umami is a natural amino acid glchlt lutemate that makes savory foods so delicious and found a way to mass-produce it in a lab. he called his creation msg. yep. the very same msg you've been conditioned to fear based on that theory that msg-laden

chinese food gives you headaches, dizziness, fatigue. >> that chinese restaurant syndrome thing has been debunked among the regulatory and scientific community. >> reporter: the majority of studies, many sponsored that use it, show msg is safe and only a tiny percentage of the population has sensitivity to large servings. bottom line, msg is fda approved. the company puts it in everything from doritos, stovetop stuffing campbell's soup. >> why? >> we are genetically programmed to be umami cravers. that triggers our brains that this is a food that is going to deliver the necessary protein that we need to sustain the function of our bodies. >> reporter: back to those burgers. >> would you ever use msg? >> i've never used it in a restaurant. i would use it at home in something. i don't have anything against it. but i don't use it. to me it's not creative. >> reporter: creative like pumpkin latte burgers. >> that's amazing. >> yep. >> reporter: i've eaten a lot of

umami making this report. >> this is our manly burger which is? >> smoked onion strings, bacon lardons, house-made cheese we put we're in. >> reporter: the taste is ethereal. bacon, lardons, those are magic words in my book. i'm nick watt for "nightline" in los angeles. up next here on "nightline," we go one on one with kevin costner who's got a new sports movie called "mcfarland usa" that he hopes will become as iconic as "field of dreams." ♪ ♪ the bold nissan rogue,

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finally tonight, kevin costner has starred in some of the most indelible sports movies of all time including "field of dreams" and "bull durham." can he do it again? here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> it's more than that. it's perfect. >> reporter: sports as metaphor for life is hardly new to kevin costner who made ladies swoon and men aspire to be better men in "field of deeps." dreams." as veteran catcher crouch davis he beats the rookie and wins the girl in "bull durham." >> i believe in long deep slow, soft kisses that last three days. >> when you look back on any of your sports manufacture ease what stays with you, what resonates? >> yous. if you do a picture right it can live forever. >> run a lap. >> reporter: which is exactly what he's hoping will happen to

"mcfarland usa." >> you want another one? >> reporter: costner is no longer the jock he's the gracefully aging down on his luck coach. >> we have kids who seem like they can run forever. they carb load on rice and beams. they go to school all day, some of them run home. i've seen it. >> reporter: "mcfarland usa," based on the true story of jim white, a new to town coach who sees athletic potential in the latino kids of this poor california farming town. >> you've croached cross country? >> no. >> track? >> no. >> there's something in our psyche that doesn't like when somebody says we can't do something. there's something specific about america, yes we can, i'll show sdplu. >> reporter: nearly all the kids in this immigrant town work in the fields to help their families get by. he's the underdog coach leading the ultimate underdog team. >> let's hit it again. >> there's that stark scene where the coach has them climb the almond pile.

>> yeah. >> they pick these almonds. we just eat them. >> the resourceful nature that an underdog figures out how i'm going to train to compete. we don't have the big gym. we don't have the facility. who how do you outthink it? >> reporter: coach white teaches them to believe in themselves and their 10 yast. quietly shedding light on the back-breaking work of field labor. >> when you understand that that's not your life you also understand a little bit how lucky you are. >> reporter: for many of the actors seeing a latino-inspired storyline on the silver screen is a watershed moment. >> what we're doing now, it's going to impact hopefully so many kids to really reach their dream. >> reporter: several of the young actors lived the hardships of their onscreen characters. >> i was -- in the morning i would get up go to work get off of school go back to work, then go to cross country practice. >> what do you want people to know know? >> it's about school. >> reporter: costner's character as to have love father figure on

screen and just as involved offscreen in the children. >> i'm interested in their lives. this is the first film they're going to see with me walk on the red carpet. >> reporter: in real life coach white turned mac far hand high school into a cross country dynasty, winning nine state championships. of those original runners all seven went to college. >> jim white represents that fabric of coach that alters lives. >> kids have the biggest hearts i've seen. >> reporter: 28 years later, seeing his life depicted on the big screen is a humbling reward for the real coach at the center of it all. >> god it's real. >> you've seen this film four times and you cry each time? >> yes, ma'am. because it touches our heart. and with the right attitude you can overcome. >> uno, dos, tres mcfarland! >> occasionally you get to make a movie about something that can give you goosebumps. it's the simpleness of how one

human being talks to another being to somehow build them up. >> reporter: i'm juju chang for "nightline" in hollywood. >> and "mcfarland usa" will be in theaters february 20th coming from our parent company, disney. thank you for watching "nightline" tonight. tune into "gma" first thing in the morning. as always we're online 24/7 at abcnews.com. good night. [dramatic music] ♪ ♪ >> yeah! hey! huh? [cheers and applause] i'm terry crews, and i can't wait to give somebody that million dollars today here on millionaire. [cheers and applause] our returning contestant

just wants to be a dad but needs to win some money today to help make that happen. let's get him some diaper dollars. from oakland, california please welcome jose ruiz! [cheers and applause] >> what's up? >> what's up? >> all right. right on. >> how you doing, man? >> i'm good. i'm good. feeling good. >> so you want the money to start a family? >> yeah, my wife and i-- we are in the middle of doing adoption-- we want to adopt a child. this money would be the kickstarter campaign to get that going so we can bring a child-- bring the child into a loving, caring, fostering home you know? >> yes, yes. >> it's gonna be good. >> oh, man, you look like a great dad. >> oh, thank you. you're a great dad already. i know that. >> i can tell. >> i know that. >> i can tell. i see one when i see it, you know what i mean, i know it. so here we go. just to recap, you are still working your way through round one. you have banked $28,000, and are nine questions away