In its external dimension, judicial independence has traditionally been conceived only in relation to the two other branches of the State, the legislative and the executive. On the basis of qualitative interviews and in the specific context of sentencing, this article explores the contours of judicial independence and of the possible external threats to the decisional freedom of judicial actors, threats whose origin is located not only inside but also outside the traditional state powers. The objective we have set ourselves in this study is to offer a more contemporary and enlarged perspective on the conditions that favour the full protection of the area of freedom in decision-making, the one that a strong concept of judicial independence demands. This has led us to problematize the external threats that compromise the integrity of sentencing system. In particular, we have focused on the political threats posed by mandatory minimum sentences, those arising from media pressure, from the so-called “public opinion” or from the demands that some social movements address to the criminal law system.