Personal Award: Sy Pearlman for “Weekend: The Sawyer Brothers”

NBC News producer Sy Pearlman is one of that rare breed of Americans who is never satisfied until he has satisfied himself that the full story has been presented. Such was the case when he raised serious doubts about the conviction and heavy sentences meted out to two brothers by the name of Sawyer, charged with a North Carolina kidnapping. Utilizing the forces available to him through the excellent staff of NBC News, Mr. Pearlman utilized two segments of the Peabody Award-winning Weekend program to outline the inconsistencies of the trial evidence and to reveal evidence pointing to the possible guilt of two other suspects. Subsequently, the Sawyer Brothers received full pardons from the State of North Carolina. For his efforts in demonstrating the power of television to re-examine criminal justice—or injustice—a Peabody Award to Sy Pearlman of NBC News.