Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor who has become a leader in religiously inspired legal reform, was the featured guest April 5 on my weekly public affairs radio show, MTL Washington Update.

Osler, left, a law professor in Minnesota and the current head of the Association of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools, spoke out against the death penalty and overly harsh drug possession sentences.

Co-host Scott Draughon and I explored Osler's advocacy, which includes books, essays, and lectures citing a Christian basis as well as legal rationales for his views opposing the death penalty and extremely harsh sentences for possession of crack cocaine.

Click here to listen to an archive of the show, which is broadcast nationally on the My Technology Lawyer (MTL) network Scott founded a decade ago. For questions or comments on future shows, call toll free (866-685-7469 ) or send an email to [email protected].

Osler is a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minnesota, and a former federal prosecutor in Detroit from 1995 to 2000.

He served as lead counsel in Spears v. United States, where the U.S. Supreme Court accepted his position that sentencing judges could categorically reject a 100:1 ratio between crack and powder cocaine in the federal sentencing guidelines. His work fighting overly harsh crack sentences was also portrayed in the film American Violet, where he was the basis for the character of Professor Joe Fisher.

He is the author of Jesus on Death Row (Abingdon, 2009). The book challenges the death penalty based on the experience of Christ as a criminal defendant.