the pale. lindsey graham has gone twice the amount of time allotted to him. he wouldn t let her answer. he kept interrupting her. and i couldn t help but think, was this aimed for this hearing or a political campaign? reporter: an indepth look into it. a group of retired federal judges including two republican appointees sent a letter to the committee saying jackson s record on sentencing is entirely consistent with decisions from judges around the country. but republicans have not found that reasoning satisfactory, continuing to press their belief that jackson is, quote, soft on crime. there is at least a level of empathy that enters into your treatment of a defendant that some could view as maybe beyond what some of us would be comfortable with, with respect to administering justice. reporter: nobody said to them, do you understand that
there are children who will never have normal lives because you sold crack to their parents, and now they re in a vortex of addiction. do you understand that, mr. defendant? i was the one in my sentencing practices who explained those things in an interest of furthering congress s direction that we are supposed to be sentencing people so they can ultimately be rehabilitated. reporter: and judge jackson continued to stress her near decade of experience as a federal judge. i approach cases from experience, from practice, and consistent with may constitutional obligations. reporter: and judge jackson made some news of her own today. for the first time she pledged in confirmed, she will recuse herself from an affirmative action case involving harvard that will be heard by the supreme court sometime in the fall. jackson serves on harvard s