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A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom
An urgent call to free those buried alive by America's legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity--from a gifted young lawyer whose journey marks the emergence of a powerful new voice in the movement to transform the system.
Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever--that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner, and, like Brittany, black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America's ruthless, devastating war on drugs, Sharanda had been torn away from her young daughter and was serving a life sentence without parole--all for a first-time drug offense. In Sharanda, Brittany saw haunting echoes of own life, both as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother and the once-girlfriend of an abusive drug dealer. As she studied Sharanda's case, a system slowly came into focus: one where widespread racial injustice forms the core of our country's addiction to incarceration. Moved by Sharanda's plight, Brittany set to work on gaining her freedom.
This had never been the plan. Bright and ambitious, Brittany was a successful accountant with her sights on a high-powered future in corporate law. But Sharanda's case opened the door to a harrowing course through the criminal justice system, in which people could be locked up for life under misguided appeals to law and order. Driven by the knowledge that her clients' fates could have easily been her own, Brittany soon found herself on a quest to unlock the human potential of those abandoned by society. By day she moved billion-dollar corporate deals, and by night worked pro bono to free clients in near-hopeless legal battles. Ultimately, her journey transformed her understanding of injustice in the courts, of genius languishing behind bars, and the very definition of freedom itself. A Knock at Midnight is Brittany's riveting, inspirational memoir, at once a coming-of-age story and a powerful evocation of what it takes to bring hope and justice to a system built to resist them both.
Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever--that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner, and, like Brittany, black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America's ruthless, devastating war on drugs, Sharanda had been torn away from her young daughter and was serving a life sentence without parole--all for a first-time drug offense. In Sharanda, Brittany saw haunting echoes of own life, both as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother and the once-girlfriend of an abusive drug dealer. As she studied Sharanda's case, a system slowly came into focus: one where widespread racial injustice forms the core of our country's addiction to incarceration. Moved by Sharanda's plight, Brittany set to work on gaining her freedom.
This had never been the plan. Bright and ambitious, Brittany was a successful accountant with her sights on a high-powered future in corporate law. But Sharanda's case opened the door to a harrowing course through the criminal justice system, in which people could be locked up for life under misguided appeals to law and order. Driven by the knowledge that her clients' fates could have easily been her own, Brittany soon found herself on a quest to unlock the human potential of those abandoned by society. By day she moved billion-dollar corporate deals, and by night worked pro bono to free clients in near-hopeless legal battles. Ultimately, her journey transformed her understanding of injustice in the courts, of genius languishing behind bars, and the very definition of freedom itself. A Knock at Midnight is Brittany's riveting, inspirational memoir, at once a coming-of-age story and a powerful evocation of what it takes to bring hope and justice to a system built to resist them both.
321 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2020
716 people are currently reading
17.3k people want to read
About the author
Brittany K. Barnett
1 book223 followersBrittany K. Barnett is a best-selling author, attorney, and entrepreneur who thrives at the intersection of freedom, hope, and justice. She is dedicated to transforming the criminal justice system and has won freedom for numerous people serving fundamental death sentences for federal drug offenses – including seven clients who received executive clemency from President Barack Obama. Brittany founded the following nonprofits to carry out her life's work: Buried Alive Project, Girls Embracing Mothers, and Manifest Freedom. She has earned many honors, including being named one of America’s most Outstanding Young Lawyers by the American Bar Association.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 900 reviews
February 11, 2021
A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett is a 2020 Crown publishing group publication.
A Compulsory and eye-opening memoir!
Brittany K. Barnett writes a compelling memoir chronicling her journey to combat injustice. She had her own personal hurdles to jump over, but her experiences prepared her to accept her true calling.
Brittany Barnett’s personal experiences aided her when she began digging around in the criminal legal process. Her own mother had a serious drug addiction and spent two years in prison. But, when Brittany begins to look closely at the case of Sharanda Jones, it becomes obvious the punishment far exceeded the crime.
From there, Brittany, in her determination to help Jones, is met with a massive brick wall, disappointments and setbacks. Eventually, with her options running out, she turns to the Obama Administration’s clemency initiative for help.
Sharanda’s case is not the only case Brittany worked on. In fact, she is so dedicated to the cause, and the need so great, for someone like her to champion for people serving life sentences for lesser, non-violent drug offenses, she eventually left the corporate world to dedicate herself to fighting injustice.
While the draconian sentences, the criminal legal process, and mass incarceration could easily break one’s spirit, Brittany’s Pro-Bono work is focused on the victories, on the promise of hope. While she certainly gives readers an up close and personal view at the system’s failures, outlining its flaws passionately, she doesn't veer off into preachy pulpit pounding, and shows respect for those forced to work within the system as it is.
The balance between sharing her personal life and professional life is perhaps too intertwined for one to get a better read on Brittany as a private citizen, which is too bad, as she strikes me as a person one might want to get to know better.
Other than this one small regret, I highly recommend this book. It is educational, heartbreaking, inspirational and hopeful!
A Compulsory and eye-opening memoir!
Brittany K. Barnett writes a compelling memoir chronicling her journey to combat injustice. She had her own personal hurdles to jump over, but her experiences prepared her to accept her true calling.
Brittany Barnett’s personal experiences aided her when she began digging around in the criminal legal process. Her own mother had a serious drug addiction and spent two years in prison. But, when Brittany begins to look closely at the case of Sharanda Jones, it becomes obvious the punishment far exceeded the crime.
From there, Brittany, in her determination to help Jones, is met with a massive brick wall, disappointments and setbacks. Eventually, with her options running out, she turns to the Obama Administration’s clemency initiative for help.
Sharanda’s case is not the only case Brittany worked on. In fact, she is so dedicated to the cause, and the need so great, for someone like her to champion for people serving life sentences for lesser, non-violent drug offenses, she eventually left the corporate world to dedicate herself to fighting injustice.
While the draconian sentences, the criminal legal process, and mass incarceration could easily break one’s spirit, Brittany’s Pro-Bono work is focused on the victories, on the promise of hope. While she certainly gives readers an up close and personal view at the system’s failures, outlining its flaws passionately, she doesn't veer off into preachy pulpit pounding, and shows respect for those forced to work within the system as it is.
The balance between sharing her personal life and professional life is perhaps too intertwined for one to get a better read on Brittany as a private citizen, which is too bad, as she strikes me as a person one might want to get to know better.
Other than this one small regret, I highly recommend this book. It is educational, heartbreaking, inspirational and hopeful!
September 27, 2021
"I began to wonder whether America’s harsh drug sentences were tied to the drugs in a man’s hands or the melanin in his skin."
While Brittany K Barnett was in law school, she came across the story of Sharanda Jones, a woman serving a life sentence for "conspiracy" to distribute drugs.
What first caught her attention was the number on a sticker on Sharanda's shirt: 1374671. This had been Brittany's mother's prison number and hearing Sharanda's story changed the trajectory of her life.
After this introduction, Ms. Barnett writes about her childhood, one that was happy until her mother became an addict. She tells the shame and loneliness she felt as her mother sank deep into the clutches of addiction, and the pain that engulfed her when her mother was cruelly wrenched further away by a judge sentencing her to ten years in jail for possession of crack cocaine.
Brittany decided to change from finance to corporate law and began working her way up the ladder to financial success. However, after she saw Sharanda Jones and learned her story, she could not forget her and decided to do all she could to help free her.
It was fascinating to read both of these women's stories, and to learn about the harsh mandatory sentencing for drugs, especially that of crack cocaine. Beginning with President Reagan, America's "war on drugs" did not win the drug war. Instead it made it worse, and in the process destroyed many, many lives.
As Ms. Barnett tells us, "Federal law adopted a 100-to-1 ratio, treating one gram of crack as equivalent to one hundred grams of powder cocaine for sentencing purposes". White people using and distributing powder cocaine received relatively light sentences, and poor Blacks who tended to use the crack form because it was cheaper were given sentences 100 times harsher.
This meant that the drug lords who were bringing tons (literally) of cocaine into the country received far shorter sentences than addicts in possession of a tiny amount of crack intended for their personal use.
Unfortunately, laws were also put into place that made it possible to convict people for "conspiracy to distribute" --without a shred of evidence.
Once someone was caught, they could be given years off of their sentence for naming other people. It didn't matter who and it didn't matter that often there was no evidence except these people's word. Once accused, many found (and still find, no doubt) themselves locked up, sometimes for life. It brings to mind the infamous witch trials.
Because of these "conspiracy to distribute" sentences, Sharanda was given life in prison without possibility of parole, her 8-year old daughter left motherless. Even Sharanda's paraplegic mother was thrown into prison on these false charges for "running a drug house".
A Knock at Midnight is a page turner. Ms. Barnett writes passionately and with deep compassion about Ms. Jones and others whose lives have been destroyed by America's "war on drugs". She shows how the law unfairly targets Black and Brown people while doing nothing to help addicts. Instead, as she notes, "We punish addiction in this country, treating it as a moral flaw instead of an illness. Prison does not bring redemption, and it does not cure or treat addiction."
This is a remarkable book, one that sheds light on both America's drug problem and systemic racism. I highly recommend it.
While Brittany K Barnett was in law school, she came across the story of Sharanda Jones, a woman serving a life sentence for "conspiracy" to distribute drugs.
What first caught her attention was the number on a sticker on Sharanda's shirt: 1374671. This had been Brittany's mother's prison number and hearing Sharanda's story changed the trajectory of her life.
After this introduction, Ms. Barnett writes about her childhood, one that was happy until her mother became an addict. She tells the shame and loneliness she felt as her mother sank deep into the clutches of addiction, and the pain that engulfed her when her mother was cruelly wrenched further away by a judge sentencing her to ten years in jail for possession of crack cocaine.
Brittany decided to change from finance to corporate law and began working her way up the ladder to financial success. However, after she saw Sharanda Jones and learned her story, she could not forget her and decided to do all she could to help free her.
It was fascinating to read both of these women's stories, and to learn about the harsh mandatory sentencing for drugs, especially that of crack cocaine. Beginning with President Reagan, America's "war on drugs" did not win the drug war. Instead it made it worse, and in the process destroyed many, many lives.
As Ms. Barnett tells us, "Federal law adopted a 100-to-1 ratio, treating one gram of crack as equivalent to one hundred grams of powder cocaine for sentencing purposes". White people using and distributing powder cocaine received relatively light sentences, and poor Blacks who tended to use the crack form because it was cheaper were given sentences 100 times harsher.
This meant that the drug lords who were bringing tons (literally) of cocaine into the country received far shorter sentences than addicts in possession of a tiny amount of crack intended for their personal use.
Unfortunately, laws were also put into place that made it possible to convict people for "conspiracy to distribute" --without a shred of evidence.
Once someone was caught, they could be given years off of their sentence for naming other people. It didn't matter who and it didn't matter that often there was no evidence except these people's word. Once accused, many found (and still find, no doubt) themselves locked up, sometimes for life. It brings to mind the infamous witch trials.
Because of these "conspiracy to distribute" sentences, Sharanda was given life in prison without possibility of parole, her 8-year old daughter left motherless. Even Sharanda's paraplegic mother was thrown into prison on these false charges for "running a drug house".
A Knock at Midnight is a page turner. Ms. Barnett writes passionately and with deep compassion about Ms. Jones and others whose lives have been destroyed by America's "war on drugs". She shows how the law unfairly targets Black and Brown people while doing nothing to help addicts. Instead, as she notes, "We punish addiction in this country, treating it as a moral flaw instead of an illness. Prison does not bring redemption, and it does not cure or treat addiction."
This is a remarkable book, one that sheds light on both America's drug problem and systemic racism. I highly recommend it.
April 19, 2021
“But America, as I look at you from afar, I wonder whether your moral and spiritual progress has been commensurate with your scientific progress. It seems to me that your moral progress lags behind your scientific progress. Your poet Thoreau used to talk about “improved means to an unimproved end.” How often this is true. You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live. You have allowed your mentality to outrun your morality. You have allowed your civilization to outdistance your culture. Through your scientific genius you have made of the world a neighborhood, but through your moral and spiritual genius you have failed to make of it a brotherhood. So America, I would urge you to keep your moral advances abreast with your scientific advances.” ― Clayborne Carson, A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, creating mandatory minimum sentencing for drug traffickers, including the especially harsh 100-1 crack-powder disparity. In 1995, The USSC (US Sentencing Commission), delivered its first report to Congress. It found that 80% of crack offenders are black. By the time of the Commission’s third report in 2002, they were able to reveal that crack and cocaine are pharmacologically identical. In 2010, the Senate passed and President Obama signed into law the Fair Sentencing Act, changing the 100-1 ratio to 18-1 ratio between crack and cocaine. In this book, Brittany K. Barnett reveals the true-life stories of people and their families caught in the bull’s eye of these harsh sentencing laws.
Barnett’s mother, Evelyn Fullbright became a drug addict and entered a downward spiral that culminated in arrest and a prison sentence of eight years. This sentence was for failing drug tests time after time until she had accumulated ten years of probation. Barnett is twenty-two years old at the time of her mother’s sentencing. On Barnett’s first trip to see her mother at the Woodman Unit in Gatesville, she passes the surreal scene of women hoeing the earth in the hot Texas sun, while a man with a rifle sits astride a horse, guarding them.
While a student at SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas, she signs up for Professor Lacy’s class, ‘Critical Race Theory.’ She ends up sending an email to the professor, asking for a place in his popular class as it was limited to only twenty students. One of the few black professors at SMU, the excitement, and energy in the class was electric. For their final class project, the students were to choose “a subject to interrogate and present to your peers, demonstrating how racial discrimination intersects with the law, and provide an argument for a way forward.” She chose Sharanda Jones from a google search about women, drugs, and life sentences. The professor’s class would end up changing the trajectory of Barnett’s life.
Barnett explores the human side of incarceration for non-violent drug charges. One of the first things Barnett learned when she went to visit her mother in prison was that Evelyn Fullbright was no longer a name; in prison, she was known by her number, just the first step in the dehumanizing process. Some of those incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses come from backgrounds of poverty. Others looking to make enough money to get by, made poor choices.
Barnett is a truly courageous young woman, but throughout the book, she sings the praises of those that have aided in the goal of freeing those laboring under unfair prison sentences. She praises the Black Church and the sermons that inspired her. She is constant in her love for Sharanda and those for whom she fought and still fights. It is a fight that wrenched my heart; a fight for those being buried alive in a prison system under draconian laws.
“But the notion that one is innocent until proven guilty is long gone from the American criminal justice system.” -- Brittany K. Barnett
In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, creating mandatory minimum sentencing for drug traffickers, including the especially harsh 100-1 crack-powder disparity. In 1995, The USSC (US Sentencing Commission), delivered its first report to Congress. It found that 80% of crack offenders are black. By the time of the Commission’s third report in 2002, they were able to reveal that crack and cocaine are pharmacologically identical. In 2010, the Senate passed and President Obama signed into law the Fair Sentencing Act, changing the 100-1 ratio to 18-1 ratio between crack and cocaine. In this book, Brittany K. Barnett reveals the true-life stories of people and their families caught in the bull’s eye of these harsh sentencing laws.
Barnett’s mother, Evelyn Fullbright became a drug addict and entered a downward spiral that culminated in arrest and a prison sentence of eight years. This sentence was for failing drug tests time after time until she had accumulated ten years of probation. Barnett is twenty-two years old at the time of her mother’s sentencing. On Barnett’s first trip to see her mother at the Woodman Unit in Gatesville, she passes the surreal scene of women hoeing the earth in the hot Texas sun, while a man with a rifle sits astride a horse, guarding them.
While a student at SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas, she signs up for Professor Lacy’s class, ‘Critical Race Theory.’ She ends up sending an email to the professor, asking for a place in his popular class as it was limited to only twenty students. One of the few black professors at SMU, the excitement, and energy in the class was electric. For their final class project, the students were to choose “a subject to interrogate and present to your peers, demonstrating how racial discrimination intersects with the law, and provide an argument for a way forward.” She chose Sharanda Jones from a google search about women, drugs, and life sentences. The professor’s class would end up changing the trajectory of Barnett’s life.
Barnett explores the human side of incarceration for non-violent drug charges. One of the first things Barnett learned when she went to visit her mother in prison was that Evelyn Fullbright was no longer a name; in prison, she was known by her number, just the first step in the dehumanizing process. Some of those incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses come from backgrounds of poverty. Others looking to make enough money to get by, made poor choices.
Barnett is a truly courageous young woman, but throughout the book, she sings the praises of those that have aided in the goal of freeing those laboring under unfair prison sentences. She praises the Black Church and the sermons that inspired her. She is constant in her love for Sharanda and those for whom she fought and still fights. It is a fight that wrenched my heart; a fight for those being buried alive in a prison system under draconian laws.
“But the notion that one is innocent until proven guilty is long gone from the American criminal justice system.” -- Brittany K. Barnett
October 23, 2021
Unfortunately, my deep and detailed review machine is offline. I have set aside several books for deeper review and I keep coming up short when I sit down to write them. Such is the case for this amazing book. I do want to lay down some thoughts about the book before it gets too far in the past to remember the things I want to remember about the book.
First impressions are that Brittany K Barnett is an amazing young woman. Simply amazing. Her roots are traumatic and rife with opportunity to send a child down a much darker path. Specifically, she is the child of a single-parent, drug addict. Barnett raised by her close-knit family managed to excel in school and become a lawyer. Her aim was to become a corporate lawyer and lead a life of wealth and style. During law school she stumbled upon Sharanda Jones, a woman imprisoned who reminded her of her mother. A woman caught up in the ruthless War on Drugs; a victim of a criminal justice system that doesn't recognize nuance. Along the way she encounters many more people who are victims of a rigid and unfair justice system. Many of them are guilty of crimes but receive sentences that are far harsher than the actual crime warrants. What she discovers is that the "War on Drugs" is systemically racial and brutal in its implementation. In pursuit of helping these people, a judicial activist is born. Barnett is not seeking to absolve people of their crimes; she is seeking clemency for these people whose mandatory sentences are disproportionately harsh compared to the nonviolent crimes committed. She founds a nonprofit dedicated to this purpose called "Buried Alive" because that is the reality of these people whose sentences are 40 or 50 years in prison for possession etc. These people are essentially being sentenced to death in prison. Along the way Barnett drops some profoundly disturbing facts about the "War on Drugs", the disproportionate sentencing and the impacts of the for-profit prisons have had on public policy and the impact of these policies upon society in general and specifically among Black and Latino populations. It's jaw dropping and disheartening. If you think you know, my bet is that you don't. Americans in particular seem to be blissfully unaware of how harsh and horrible the criminal justice system has become.
By then end of the book, I found myself profoundly impressed by Brittany Barnett who is taking on these things at a strikingly young age and has found success pursuing this newfound passion. I liken her to the next generation of Bryan Stevenson's (Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption) though Barnett's efforts are in pursuing getting outrageously disproportionate mandatory sentences reduced. As I listened to this book, I was actually uplifted because the generation showcased by Barnett is out there full of awareness and undeterred by the obstacles erected before them. Also, this memoir is one of the best I've encountered with just the right amount of personal story as well as her judicial activism. It's a brilliant book that I hope gets widely read. Barnett is an extraordinary woman with boundless energy, searing intelligence, perseverance, and tremendous compassion for people… and she has only just begun!!
5 Stars
Listened to the audiobook. Karen Chilton did an amazing job!!
First impressions are that Brittany K Barnett is an amazing young woman. Simply amazing. Her roots are traumatic and rife with opportunity to send a child down a much darker path. Specifically, she is the child of a single-parent, drug addict. Barnett raised by her close-knit family managed to excel in school and become a lawyer. Her aim was to become a corporate lawyer and lead a life of wealth and style. During law school she stumbled upon Sharanda Jones, a woman imprisoned who reminded her of her mother. A woman caught up in the ruthless War on Drugs; a victim of a criminal justice system that doesn't recognize nuance. Along the way she encounters many more people who are victims of a rigid and unfair justice system. Many of them are guilty of crimes but receive sentences that are far harsher than the actual crime warrants. What she discovers is that the "War on Drugs" is systemically racial and brutal in its implementation. In pursuit of helping these people, a judicial activist is born. Barnett is not seeking to absolve people of their crimes; she is seeking clemency for these people whose mandatory sentences are disproportionately harsh compared to the nonviolent crimes committed. She founds a nonprofit dedicated to this purpose called "Buried Alive" because that is the reality of these people whose sentences are 40 or 50 years in prison for possession etc. These people are essentially being sentenced to death in prison. Along the way Barnett drops some profoundly disturbing facts about the "War on Drugs", the disproportionate sentencing and the impacts of the for-profit prisons have had on public policy and the impact of these policies upon society in general and specifically among Black and Latino populations. It's jaw dropping and disheartening. If you think you know, my bet is that you don't. Americans in particular seem to be blissfully unaware of how harsh and horrible the criminal justice system has become.
By then end of the book, I found myself profoundly impressed by Brittany Barnett who is taking on these things at a strikingly young age and has found success pursuing this newfound passion. I liken her to the next generation of Bryan Stevenson's (Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption) though Barnett's efforts are in pursuing getting outrageously disproportionate mandatory sentences reduced. As I listened to this book, I was actually uplifted because the generation showcased by Barnett is out there full of awareness and undeterred by the obstacles erected before them. Also, this memoir is one of the best I've encountered with just the right amount of personal story as well as her judicial activism. It's a brilliant book that I hope gets widely read. Barnett is an extraordinary woman with boundless energy, searing intelligence, perseverance, and tremendous compassion for people… and she has only just begun!!
5 Stars
Listened to the audiobook. Karen Chilton did an amazing job!!
February 3, 2021
A powerful memoir about a young Black lawyer who dedicates herself to fighting the criminal justice system, in particular the inhumane and racist life without parole sentences for first time drug offenses. I loved how Brittany Barnett shared her own story about her mom’s incarceration and how that experience, intertwined with an assignment she conducted in law school, motivated her to fight so tirelessly for Black folx who had their lives unjustly cut short by these draconian life sentences. Barnett centers her clients’ life experiences and humanizes their struggles as well as emphasizes their creativity, intelligence, and compassion. While she does not center herself in these stories, I still found myself moved by her dedication to the cause and her focus on making a difference with her skills as a lawyer.
Totally recommend for those who enjoyed Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy or Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Ugh, we have so much work to do to dismantle systemic racism and anti-Blackness in the United States. I felt curious about Barnett’s thoughts on prison abolition as the long-term goal. Though, I recognize she has her hands full with her important and necessary work of freeing people who our currently imprisoned and have been failed by the system.
Totally recommend for those who enjoyed Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy or Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow. Ugh, we have so much work to do to dismantle systemic racism and anti-Blackness in the United States. I felt curious about Barnett’s thoughts on prison abolition as the long-term goal. Though, I recognize she has her hands full with her important and necessary work of freeing people who our currently imprisoned and have been failed by the system.
May 16, 2021
This outstanding book is $2.99 on Amazon for Kindle today, May 16!
Absolutely remarkable in every way. This should be required reading for everyone. Not lecture-y, but a passionate and moving exploration of a very broken criminal justice system. The author is more than a stellar human being, she is a hell of an author. Her eloquent and touching portraits of her family, her clients and their life stories make this book sing. I spent a lot of time digging for more information on these people after I finished this book because I wanted to see their faces and learn more about them myself. I love books that influence and compel me long after I close the back cover.
Don’t miss this one! Trust me. 5 full brilliant stars.
Absolutely remarkable in every way. This should be required reading for everyone. Not lecture-y, but a passionate and moving exploration of a very broken criminal justice system. The author is more than a stellar human being, she is a hell of an author. Her eloquent and touching portraits of her family, her clients and their life stories make this book sing. I spent a lot of time digging for more information on these people after I finished this book because I wanted to see their faces and learn more about them myself. I love books that influence and compel me long after I close the back cover.
Don’t miss this one! Trust me. 5 full brilliant stars.
January 4, 2021
This book is seriously ASTOUNDING!!!
I took time to read the ebook - then l listened to the Audiobook.
BOTH ARE EXCELLENT.
....choose any format— but read it.
I completely agree with others who have said this book should be required reading by all Americans.
It’s true that we have a serious drug problem in this country— but the way we have gone about trying to solve it—is proving again and again — it’s not working!!!
The stories in this book are gripping — horrific - true - personal -
Brittany Barnett, author, ( great storytelling), lawyer, (ruthlessly committed to justice), inspiring humanitarian, is a heroine.
She put in years of hard work....late nights....early mornings....non-stop work.
She literally moved mountains to free people from prison who’s only crime was having a drug addiction.
We learn about Brittney’s
mother who spent time in jail due to her addiction—
to freeing many others.
From the start we see how down-to-earth - sincere-and personal Brittney is....
Here’s a little dialogue between Brittney and Sharanda Jones:
“We’d written a few emails through Corrlinks, the prison email system, before this first visit. I’d learned Sharanda was the exact same age as my dad, and she’d grown up within an hour of both Greenville, my mom‘s hometown, and Campbell, my dad‘s”.
“There’s a white lady in here that knows your family,
Sharanda said. ‘I was telling her about your visit and she was like, wait, Barnett? Like Campbell? She told me to ask you if you’re related to Leland?’”
“That’s my dad! I said. What’s her name?”
“Kim Wagoner. She said she grew up with him. She got fifteen years for meth. Sharanda shook her head. ‘So crazy. She just got in here a few years ago, so she’s got at least a decade to go’”.
“It’s mind-blowing how much time they give people, I said. Like it’s nothing”.
“Tell me about it, Sharanda said, smiling, and I thought about how many decades stretched ahead of her. Her ability to find any humor in the face of her own sentence seemed to me a profound grace”.
“Who cut your layers, Brittney? Sharanda said, keeping the mood light. They’re gorgeous”.
“I love yours, too. I wish I could pull off a pixie cut! Did you do it yourself?”
“No, but I am real picky about who I let touch my head, Sharanda said. I can always tell who has blessed hands or not. Girl, I never would have guessed you are twenty-five”.
“And you sure don’t look forty-two, I said. No way. I guess it’s true what they say—I smiled—Black don’t crack”.
“You better know it, Sharanda said, raising her head and flashing her gorgeous smile”.
Brittney was only a ‘one-year’ law student at the start.
She knew next to nothing about the way the law worked in the real world. The only thing she knew after her first visit, with Sharanda, was that she did not deserve to spend the rest of her life in prison. Brittney spoke to Sharanda with all the passion and conviction of a budding attorney.
Brittney said:
“I will get you out, Sharanda. I will see you free. Even if I have to take this case all the way to the White House”.
“Sharanda looked me in the eye and was quiet for a long time. Then she leaned toward me and smiled”.
“Well, she said, I guess I’m getting out”.
Brittney set her sights on corporate law… and in the fall of 2011...she was a bona fide attorney — after three rigorous years at Southern Methodist University.
Sharanda’s mother, Genice Stribling, died of a staph infection, after twelve years of incarceration with her daughter.
Her mother’s death marked the beginning of the most difficult phase of Sharanda’s
incarceration.
The system had failed both Sharanda and her mom, Genice.
But....
Eventually Brittney did get Sharanda OUT!!!
“On April 23, 2014, the Obama administration announced the historic Clemency Initiative to restore vigor and integrity to the clemency process and a sense of fairness to the heart of the justice system”.
It wasn’t a perfect initiative— but it at least stood behind the unfairness between drug addictions and crime addictions.
It blew my mind to read learn that in 2014, the U. S Pardon Attorney’s office had received 15, 646 petitions for commutation since 2009.
In March, 2016, the White House hosted an event to welcome home recent clemency recipients. Sharanda and Brittany were invited.
“For most of its history, our country has worked hard to demonize incarcerated people that we forget they are our mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Every day people, all. Human beings who are not bad people, just made poor choices”.
Phenomenal-
Informative -
Educational-
Page Turning!!!
Highly recommend!!!
I took time to read the ebook - then l listened to the Audiobook.
BOTH ARE EXCELLENT.
....choose any format— but read it.
I completely agree with others who have said this book should be required reading by all Americans.
It’s true that we have a serious drug problem in this country— but the way we have gone about trying to solve it—is proving again and again — it’s not working!!!
The stories in this book are gripping — horrific - true - personal -
Brittany Barnett, author, ( great storytelling), lawyer, (ruthlessly committed to justice), inspiring humanitarian, is a heroine.
She put in years of hard work....late nights....early mornings....non-stop work.
She literally moved mountains to free people from prison who’s only crime was having a drug addiction.
We learn about Brittney’s
mother who spent time in jail due to her addiction—
to freeing many others.
From the start we see how down-to-earth - sincere-and personal Brittney is....
Here’s a little dialogue between Brittney and Sharanda Jones:
“We’d written a few emails through Corrlinks, the prison email system, before this first visit. I’d learned Sharanda was the exact same age as my dad, and she’d grown up within an hour of both Greenville, my mom‘s hometown, and Campbell, my dad‘s”.
“There’s a white lady in here that knows your family,
Sharanda said. ‘I was telling her about your visit and she was like, wait, Barnett? Like Campbell? She told me to ask you if you’re related to Leland?’”
“That’s my dad! I said. What’s her name?”
“Kim Wagoner. She said she grew up with him. She got fifteen years for meth. Sharanda shook her head. ‘So crazy. She just got in here a few years ago, so she’s got at least a decade to go’”.
“It’s mind-blowing how much time they give people, I said. Like it’s nothing”.
“Tell me about it, Sharanda said, smiling, and I thought about how many decades stretched ahead of her. Her ability to find any humor in the face of her own sentence seemed to me a profound grace”.
“Who cut your layers, Brittney? Sharanda said, keeping the mood light. They’re gorgeous”.
“I love yours, too. I wish I could pull off a pixie cut! Did you do it yourself?”
“No, but I am real picky about who I let touch my head, Sharanda said. I can always tell who has blessed hands or not. Girl, I never would have guessed you are twenty-five”.
“And you sure don’t look forty-two, I said. No way. I guess it’s true what they say—I smiled—Black don’t crack”.
“You better know it, Sharanda said, raising her head and flashing her gorgeous smile”.
Brittney was only a ‘one-year’ law student at the start.
She knew next to nothing about the way the law worked in the real world. The only thing she knew after her first visit, with Sharanda, was that she did not deserve to spend the rest of her life in prison. Brittney spoke to Sharanda with all the passion and conviction of a budding attorney.
Brittney said:
“I will get you out, Sharanda. I will see you free. Even if I have to take this case all the way to the White House”.
“Sharanda looked me in the eye and was quiet for a long time. Then she leaned toward me and smiled”.
“Well, she said, I guess I’m getting out”.
Brittney set her sights on corporate law… and in the fall of 2011...she was a bona fide attorney — after three rigorous years at Southern Methodist University.
Sharanda’s mother, Genice Stribling, died of a staph infection, after twelve years of incarceration with her daughter.
Her mother’s death marked the beginning of the most difficult phase of Sharanda’s
incarceration.
The system had failed both Sharanda and her mom, Genice.
But....
Eventually Brittney did get Sharanda OUT!!!
“On April 23, 2014, the Obama administration announced the historic Clemency Initiative to restore vigor and integrity to the clemency process and a sense of fairness to the heart of the justice system”.
It wasn’t a perfect initiative— but it at least stood behind the unfairness between drug addictions and crime addictions.
It blew my mind to read learn that in 2014, the U. S Pardon Attorney’s office had received 15, 646 petitions for commutation since 2009.
In March, 2016, the White House hosted an event to welcome home recent clemency recipients. Sharanda and Brittany were invited.
“For most of its history, our country has worked hard to demonize incarcerated people that we forget they are our mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Every day people, all. Human beings who are not bad people, just made poor choices”.
Phenomenal-
Informative -
Educational-
Page Turning!!!
Highly recommend!!!
March 27, 2021
A Knock at Midnight is an astounding book about the power of one young woman to impact the lives of dozens of men and women imprisoned during the draconian federal crack cocaine laws. Barnett isn't just a brilliant lawyer - she is a wonderful writer who brings to life the stories of the men and women she fights for. Amazingly, Barnett makes difficult, intractable situations feel possible to change. She refuses to give up.
Along with tragedy, there is so much hope packed in this book! It was was an emotional experience for me. I gasped and smiled and cried as Barnett fought for the lives of Sharanda and Mike and Corey and Alice and Chris. Just a few of the thousands who deserve justice. This is a book that deserves, needs to be read widely!
Along with tragedy, there is so much hope packed in this book! It was was an emotional experience for me. I gasped and smiled and cried as Barnett fought for the lives of Sharanda and Mike and Corey and Alice and Chris. Just a few of the thousands who deserve justice. This is a book that deserves, needs to be read widely!
July 24, 2021
A Knock at Midnight is a remarkable and powerful memoir about one young lawyer's experience with the criminal justice system and the damage the racially biased war on drugs has reaped on the lives of many people, particularly minority populations. We get a birds eye view of the harsh realities of incarcerated life which are somewhat offset by the friendship and loyalty between some of the women. We also witness hope, justice and freedom as the subtitle promises.
We first meet the author, Brittany K Barnett, as a young girl living in a Dallas suburb with her family. Brittany’s mother is a drug addict and is eventually arrested and imprisoned. Brittany describes the pain of her mother’s addiction as well as the painful visits to her mother in prison. During one such visit to see her mother Brittany meets a young woman, Sharanda, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment based on a minor drug offense which took place three years prior to her arrest. How could this happen? We learn, along with Brittany, that during the war on drugs many laws were passed enabling prosecutors to arrest and impose harsh sentences for minor drug offenses. These laws are used unfairly and the wrong people are serving time, including life sentences. In Sharonda’s case, (and many others') a drug dealer whose crime is far worse than Brittany’s is offered a deal by the prosecutors and the Feds. He’ll get a much reduced sentence if he names other people involved in his cocaine/crack “conspiracy.” He names Sharanda who is arrested for “conspiracy to distribute drugs ” and is given a life sentence based only on the word of this one self-serving drug dealer. There is not a shred of evidence against her.
Brittany meets Sharanda 10 years into her sentence. By this time, Brittany is in law school. Sharanda tells her story and asks Brittany if she can help her get out of jail. Brittany explains that she is not a lawyer, she is still in law school and knows little about criminal law and nothing about the process of turning over verdicts. After talking for a while Brittany feels that she must try to help Sharanda who doesn't deserve to spend the rest of her life in jail. She decides to take the case. With that decision, the trajectory of both women’s lives change.
Brittany goes to law school during the day and studies criminal law at night and into the morning hours. After graduating from law school she becomes a very talented corporate lawyer and continues to work in her "free time" as a pro bono lawyer on cases similar to Sharanda’s.
Brittany writes about each of her clients and their unique stories but they have one thing in common: they have all been over-penalized for relatively minor drug offenses. Many are serving life sentences or 20-40 years, having been named by a drug dealer aiming to lighten his own sentence. Brittany learns and then writes about her understanding of the harsh laws and penalties which prosecutors turn to their advantage and which hamstring judges who are unable to act according to their own opinions. By the time the prosecutors are done, the judges have no options but to follow the law and impose life or extremely heavy sentences. We also learn that it is very dangerous to need medical care while incarcerated. One story about the "care" of a paraplegic is horrendous.
I could not put down this audio book. I listened to it for 12 hours in one day, literally taking it with me everywhere I went. The writing is so good and the stories so compelling that the memoir feels like a thriller. The audiobook is wonderfully narrated by the author. Listening to Brittany tell her own story made the whole experience feel very personal and powerful. I felt her compassion, dedication and commitment to her clients and was on an emotional seesaw right along with her. I had both happy and sad tears in my eyes for at least half of the book and felt a mix of outrage, anticipation, disappointment and elation while following Brittany’s journey with her clients. She is by no means an impersonal lawyer. She gets to know each of her clients very well which she thinks is key to helping them. She becomes completely invested in each client. It is impossible to hear/read her clients’ stories without feeling the same sense of outrage and compassion which Brittany feels. Most of all, I felt and still feel admiration and awe for Brittany, her commitment to her clients, and the determined and clever ways she uses the legal system to help her clients. I can’t imagine anyone reading this memoir not feeling the same way.
I had goosebumps almost the whole time I was listening to Brittany narrate her story. That has never happened to me before. Ever.
We first meet the author, Brittany K Barnett, as a young girl living in a Dallas suburb with her family. Brittany’s mother is a drug addict and is eventually arrested and imprisoned. Brittany describes the pain of her mother’s addiction as well as the painful visits to her mother in prison. During one such visit to see her mother Brittany meets a young woman, Sharanda, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment based on a minor drug offense which took place three years prior to her arrest. How could this happen? We learn, along with Brittany, that during the war on drugs many laws were passed enabling prosecutors to arrest and impose harsh sentences for minor drug offenses. These laws are used unfairly and the wrong people are serving time, including life sentences. In Sharonda’s case, (and many others') a drug dealer whose crime is far worse than Brittany’s is offered a deal by the prosecutors and the Feds. He’ll get a much reduced sentence if he names other people involved in his cocaine/crack “conspiracy.” He names Sharanda who is arrested for “conspiracy to distribute drugs ” and is given a life sentence based only on the word of this one self-serving drug dealer. There is not a shred of evidence against her.
Brittany meets Sharanda 10 years into her sentence. By this time, Brittany is in law school. Sharanda tells her story and asks Brittany if she can help her get out of jail. Brittany explains that she is not a lawyer, she is still in law school and knows little about criminal law and nothing about the process of turning over verdicts. After talking for a while Brittany feels that she must try to help Sharanda who doesn't deserve to spend the rest of her life in jail. She decides to take the case. With that decision, the trajectory of both women’s lives change.
Brittany goes to law school during the day and studies criminal law at night and into the morning hours. After graduating from law school she becomes a very talented corporate lawyer and continues to work in her "free time" as a pro bono lawyer on cases similar to Sharanda’s.
Brittany writes about each of her clients and their unique stories but they have one thing in common: they have all been over-penalized for relatively minor drug offenses. Many are serving life sentences or 20-40 years, having been named by a drug dealer aiming to lighten his own sentence. Brittany learns and then writes about her understanding of the harsh laws and penalties which prosecutors turn to their advantage and which hamstring judges who are unable to act according to their own opinions. By the time the prosecutors are done, the judges have no options but to follow the law and impose life or extremely heavy sentences. We also learn that it is very dangerous to need medical care while incarcerated. One story about the "care" of a paraplegic is horrendous.
I could not put down this audio book. I listened to it for 12 hours in one day, literally taking it with me everywhere I went. The writing is so good and the stories so compelling that the memoir feels like a thriller. The audiobook is wonderfully narrated by the author. Listening to Brittany tell her own story made the whole experience feel very personal and powerful. I felt her compassion, dedication and commitment to her clients and was on an emotional seesaw right along with her. I had both happy and sad tears in my eyes for at least half of the book and felt a mix of outrage, anticipation, disappointment and elation while following Brittany’s journey with her clients. She is by no means an impersonal lawyer. She gets to know each of her clients very well which she thinks is key to helping them. She becomes completely invested in each client. It is impossible to hear/read her clients’ stories without feeling the same sense of outrage and compassion which Brittany feels. Most of all, I felt and still feel admiration and awe for Brittany, her commitment to her clients, and the determined and clever ways she uses the legal system to help her clients. I can’t imagine anyone reading this memoir not feeling the same way.
I had goosebumps almost the whole time I was listening to Brittany narrate her story. That has never happened to me before. Ever.
February 4, 2021
Another amazing social justice book, very much like Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy. From an early age, Brittany Barnett was much too familiar with the ravaging effects on a family of drug dependency, specifically her mother's problem, who was incarcerated. Assured by her grandparents that she could accomplish great things, Brittany went to law school in Texas, and had friends and acquaintances ask her for legal advice long before graduation. While managing school or a law career first at a local firm and subsequently with a international Japanese trading company, Brittany decided to spend her spare time (or sacrificing sleep) to help victims of poor governmental drug policy. Specifically, the 100:1 punishment for crack versus powder cocaine, which clearly and disproportionately impacted the poor and people of color communities. There are several heart-wrenching stories of people sent to jail for small possession crimes, ratted out by major drug dealers in return for lighter sentences, several with exemplary records in prison with life sentences. Brittany worked tirelessly and got seven people released with clemency from President Obama, and has found her life's calling. Recommended reading for all.
July 10, 2024
This detailed exploration of the outcome of the "war on drugs" exposes a very misguided attempt to make our world a safer place to be. Rather than doing so, it made our world less compassionate, more punitive, and far more lopsided in the pursuit of "justice".
Told through personal stories, it puts names, faces, backgrounds and humanity into some of the unfortunate thousands (tens of thousands) receiving ridiculously long sentences for relatively minor drug offenses. It details the cost to those incarcerated and their families and the discouraging path in trying for appeals, clemency or pardons for those sentenced to life or several life sentences. It compares the mandatory sentencing requirements depending on what drug is involved, even when there is no essential or substantive difference between them. And it reveals who are most likely to get those excessive sentences due to systemic bias and racism. And while it doesn't take on the financial burdens of housing so many for so little, that fact lurks in the background and causes continuous head-shaking.
This book is not academic in nature but very personal and relatable. The author brings into sharp focus her journey in taking on these causes; the victories and disappointments, the time and energy consuming nature of the work, and the lifeline someone who cares offers the forgotten. I know our system is not perfect, but in hearing some of these stories I had to wonder what on earth people were thinking to create such draconian sentencing requirements without regard to individual circumstances. Surely we can do better than this. My hat is off to Ms. Barnett for her courage and determination. And may her work and that of others continue to bear fruit as we rethink how we look at such offenses, bearing in mind that people can benefit from second chances.
Told through personal stories, it puts names, faces, backgrounds and humanity into some of the unfortunate thousands (tens of thousands) receiving ridiculously long sentences for relatively minor drug offenses. It details the cost to those incarcerated and their families and the discouraging path in trying for appeals, clemency or pardons for those sentenced to life or several life sentences. It compares the mandatory sentencing requirements depending on what drug is involved, even when there is no essential or substantive difference between them. And it reveals who are most likely to get those excessive sentences due to systemic bias and racism. And while it doesn't take on the financial burdens of housing so many for so little, that fact lurks in the background and causes continuous head-shaking.
This book is not academic in nature but very personal and relatable. The author brings into sharp focus her journey in taking on these causes; the victories and disappointments, the time and energy consuming nature of the work, and the lifeline someone who cares offers the forgotten. I know our system is not perfect, but in hearing some of these stories I had to wonder what on earth people were thinking to create such draconian sentencing requirements without regard to individual circumstances. Surely we can do better than this. My hat is off to Ms. Barnett for her courage and determination. And may her work and that of others continue to bear fruit as we rethink how we look at such offenses, bearing in mind that people can benefit from second chances.
July 5, 2020
I grew up with Perry Mason and Nancy Drew and wanted to be a lawyer who saved innocent people and solved crimes. While I didn’t become a lawyer, I did become an avid consumer of books about innocent people charged and often convicted of crimes. With this in mind, I asked for the prepublication version of A Knock at Midnight by Brittany Barnett. This book NEEDS to be read by everyone, especially people who are wondering why we would need to defund the police. Barnett introduces us to people charged by the federal prosecutors in drug crimes and sentenced to life in prison, several of them women and all of them are black. The real amount of the drugs was small or far in the distance. The prosecutors, often to the dismay of the judges, add multiple extra charges sometimes brought as a result of deals with other defendants. Barnett, whose mother had been in jail for drug probation violations, becomes a corporate lawyer, but finds her true calling working to free these people. Unlike death penalty cases, life without parole seldom has a good way to appeal. Clemency is often the only way to get help. Because these are federal crimes, that means the President has to grant clemency. Again, as with so many books in this “genre”, the way the inmates find strength to go on, whether it is from their faith or their family or their care for fellow inmates, gives us hope. This stands with Just Mercy, The Sun Does Shine, Actual Innocence, Picking Cotton, and Charged in adding to the dialogue. Thank you Edelweiss Plus and Crown/Random House.
September 4, 2020
I won this via goodreads giveaways, all my opinions are my own:).
*****
Powerful and compelling, very hard to put down and I kept thinking about it each time I had to close the book for real life.
It really brings to light some of the flaws in our system. I was sad/disgusted/shocked at how everything went down.
I admire Brittany and the others for all they have done to help these people.
I applaud Brittany for this wonderful book <3
Can't think of anything else to say.
Would recommend!
*****
Powerful and compelling, very hard to put down and I kept thinking about it each time I had to close the book for real life.
It really brings to light some of the flaws in our system. I was sad/disgusted/shocked at how everything went down.
I admire Brittany and the others for all they have done to help these people.
I applaud Brittany for this wonderful book <3
Can't think of anything else to say.
Would recommend!
April 18, 2022
Fabulous
"A Knock at Midnight" is a top notch book. It tells the story of the incredibly high number of people who are in jail with life sentences (without parole) and the trails of lies and misinformation that caused them to be incarcerated.
Incredible! I was aware of injustice but ignorant of details. This book has made me a better person.
"A Knock at Midnight" is a top notch book. It tells the story of the incredibly high number of people who are in jail with life sentences (without parole) and the trails of lies and misinformation that caused them to be incarcerated.
Incredible! I was aware of injustice but ignorant of details. This book has made me a better person.
April 9, 2021
EXCELLENT - a must read !
October 12, 2024
This is a well-written, passionate work by a Black woman attorney who specializes in obtaining clemency for inmates sentenced to life in prison on minor drug charges. The book title is taken from an MLK sermon that I listened to on YouTube. The War on Drugs clearly isn't working as the author vividly demonstrates. Good background information.
August 25, 2020
Originally published on my book blog, TheBibliophage.com.
Brittany K. Barnett tells a series of moving and disturbing stories in her new memoir, A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom. If you read social justice books like The New Jim Crow or Locking Up Our Own, you must get your hands on a copy of this book! Its publication date is Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
The reason to read this is primarily the emotions it stirs. My heart pinged back and forth between anger, sadness, elation, and deep admiration. Barnett and her subjects are real-life American heroes.
Barnett begins with her own life as a girl growing up in rural East Texas. Her mom falls into addiction, and Barnett and her sister shuffle between Mom’s, Dad’s, and grandparent’s homes. They struggle in every possible way. And the bottom drops out when her mom is caught up in a drug arrest and sent to jail. Barnett and her family are devastated emotionally. The story and memoir could have stopped here and been affecting.
Instead, Barnett goes on to tell her story of graduating high school, college, graduate, and law school. She’s on a path and aiming to do more than just help support her family. She moves to Dallas and starts working in high-powered corporate law.
Social Justice and the Legal System
But she also takes a course in law school about the correlation between race and the law. Here’s where her passions and experiences take a side-step. And as Barnett explains her own learning process, we see the human side of America’s War on Drugs and mass incarceration. It’s not that she wasn’t familiar with drugs, dealing, and the decisions everyday Americans make. But connecting this direct knowledge to the legal system, especially mandatory sentencing guidelines, was life changing.
As a result, Barnett begins to work on a pro bono basis with an incarcerated woman named Sharanda Jones. The portrait she paints of Sharanda hit me in the heart, as it did Barnett. And for this young lawyer, the similarities and differences to her mother’s experience meant even more. So, Barnett starts to look for legal ways to help Jones and maybe even get her out of prison.
From here the book is more about Jones and various other clients. Each story is told with no sugar coating. Barnett aims to show all sides of the story—to be honest and complete. But most of all, she wants her readers to understand the human toll that each of these folks’ experiences. Also, each family has a story, and Barnett lets us into those as well.
There are lots of legal details, including Presidential clemency options under both the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations. What seem like endless time passes while Barnett works on each person’s case. The options are limited, but she’s a creative legal mind who also learns to access great mentors.
My conclusions
Friends, just please read this book. I plowed through it in just a few days, because of both the stories themselves and Barnett’s storytelling abilities.
Barnett takes us underneath the statistics and the 30-second news spots. She opens her own heart and connects with her clients’ hearts. She is talented and driven, offering us all a glimpse of what it takes to buck the complex system of racism and oppression.
It’s important to know that the author also started two non-profits around these issues and communities. I hope the success of this book offers both the opportunity to grow and provide more help to incarcerated people and their families.
From a writing perspective, Barnett hits a tone somewhere between frustration and outright anger at the system. And she balances that with her obvious caring for her clients and their families. Plus, she lets us see the toll her work takes on her own life. The structure of this memoir worked for me because it integrates so many stories and aspects of the issue. Finding a way to keep the intensity high without being overwhelming couldn’t have been easy for a new writer. But Barnett hits it out of the park.
I recommend this to everyone who wants to explore the deeper personal, familial, and legal issues of the war on drugs, concepts of law and order, and mass incarceration. I predict this will become a classic text in the social justice movement.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and the author for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Brittany K. Barnett tells a series of moving and disturbing stories in her new memoir, A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom. If you read social justice books like The New Jim Crow or Locking Up Our Own, you must get your hands on a copy of this book! Its publication date is Tuesday, September 8, 2020.
The reason to read this is primarily the emotions it stirs. My heart pinged back and forth between anger, sadness, elation, and deep admiration. Barnett and her subjects are real-life American heroes.
Barnett begins with her own life as a girl growing up in rural East Texas. Her mom falls into addiction, and Barnett and her sister shuffle between Mom’s, Dad’s, and grandparent’s homes. They struggle in every possible way. And the bottom drops out when her mom is caught up in a drug arrest and sent to jail. Barnett and her family are devastated emotionally. The story and memoir could have stopped here and been affecting.
Instead, Barnett goes on to tell her story of graduating high school, college, graduate, and law school. She’s on a path and aiming to do more than just help support her family. She moves to Dallas and starts working in high-powered corporate law.
Social Justice and the Legal System
But she also takes a course in law school about the correlation between race and the law. Here’s where her passions and experiences take a side-step. And as Barnett explains her own learning process, we see the human side of America’s War on Drugs and mass incarceration. It’s not that she wasn’t familiar with drugs, dealing, and the decisions everyday Americans make. But connecting this direct knowledge to the legal system, especially mandatory sentencing guidelines, was life changing.
As a result, Barnett begins to work on a pro bono basis with an incarcerated woman named Sharanda Jones. The portrait she paints of Sharanda hit me in the heart, as it did Barnett. And for this young lawyer, the similarities and differences to her mother’s experience meant even more. So, Barnett starts to look for legal ways to help Jones and maybe even get her out of prison.
From here the book is more about Jones and various other clients. Each story is told with no sugar coating. Barnett aims to show all sides of the story—to be honest and complete. But most of all, she wants her readers to understand the human toll that each of these folks’ experiences. Also, each family has a story, and Barnett lets us into those as well.
There are lots of legal details, including Presidential clemency options under both the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations. What seem like endless time passes while Barnett works on each person’s case. The options are limited, but she’s a creative legal mind who also learns to access great mentors.
My conclusions
Friends, just please read this book. I plowed through it in just a few days, because of both the stories themselves and Barnett’s storytelling abilities.
Barnett takes us underneath the statistics and the 30-second news spots. She opens her own heart and connects with her clients’ hearts. She is talented and driven, offering us all a glimpse of what it takes to buck the complex system of racism and oppression.
It’s important to know that the author also started two non-profits around these issues and communities. I hope the success of this book offers both the opportunity to grow and provide more help to incarcerated people and their families.
From a writing perspective, Barnett hits a tone somewhere between frustration and outright anger at the system. And she balances that with her obvious caring for her clients and their families. Plus, she lets us see the toll her work takes on her own life. The structure of this memoir worked for me because it integrates so many stories and aspects of the issue. Finding a way to keep the intensity high without being overwhelming couldn’t have been easy for a new writer. But Barnett hits it out of the park.
I recommend this to everyone who wants to explore the deeper personal, familial, and legal issues of the war on drugs, concepts of law and order, and mass incarceration. I predict this will become a classic text in the social justice movement.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and the author for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
June 16, 2020
"A Knock at Midnight" is a book for those people who want to learn more about the criminal justice system in America through the lens of Brittany Barnett, a talented writer and lawyer. Barnett's path to becoming an outstanding criminal justice lawyer and advocate, which diverges from her original goal of being a corporate attorney, is influenced by her own experience with having an incarcerated family member. In addition to informing or reminding people about inhumane sentences, if any time was warranted at all, and the inhumane conditions in which we incarcerate people, is that those we are putting behind bars are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and friends. Our legal system, media, and society as a whole dehumanizes those behind bars, and denies rights to returning citizens, when this book reminds you over and over that we are incarcerating our mothers, fathers, siblings, other family members, and friends with the possibility of never seeing them again outside of prison walls. I am hopeful people will get as much out of this book as I did, look into supporting Barnett's organizations, and await further written works from her.
October 24, 2020
I believe this book will be for me this year what Know My Name was for me last year…the most powerful and impactful book I’ve read all year.
Not only is this memoir a glimpse into Barnett’s personal life, it’s also a look at the systemic racism at the heart of the United States’ justice system, specifically when it applies to drug offenses, and more specifically when talking about crack cocaine. Because her mother was in the prison system under a harsher sentence than her crime deserved, Barnett was motivated to help as many unfairly sentenced drug convictions as she could. Under a clemency initiative under President Obama, Barnett was able to free seven people before he left office in 2016.
Barnett and the people she helped free have commited their lives to social justice. She writes with such compassion and inspiration; I feel like I’m a better person for having read her book. I immediately followed Barnett on Instagram, as I really want to keep tabs on what she’s up to. The world would surely be a better place if we had more people like her – selflessly committing to right wrongs and to treat people with kindness.
Not only is this memoir a glimpse into Barnett’s personal life, it’s also a look at the systemic racism at the heart of the United States’ justice system, specifically when it applies to drug offenses, and more specifically when talking about crack cocaine. Because her mother was in the prison system under a harsher sentence than her crime deserved, Barnett was motivated to help as many unfairly sentenced drug convictions as she could. Under a clemency initiative under President Obama, Barnett was able to free seven people before he left office in 2016.
Barnett and the people she helped free have commited their lives to social justice. She writes with such compassion and inspiration; I feel like I’m a better person for having read her book. I immediately followed Barnett on Instagram, as I really want to keep tabs on what she’s up to. The world would surely be a better place if we had more people like her – selflessly committing to right wrongs and to treat people with kindness.
June 30, 2020
I can't recommend this book enough. The timing of this book being released soon is a blessing. Brittany Barnett is a wonderful storyteller as she describes her work to assist Sharonda Jones in getting clemency which Barack Obama granted her. It explores the complex work of the criminal justice system and the infamous war on drugs. I really can't give this book enough praise. I will definitely be buying a copy when it is published.
May 25, 2021
One of the most eye opening books I’ve ever read.
RTC
RTC
March 20, 2021
When I went to law school in 19(mumble mumble) I thought I was going to be a justice warrior. My first summer I worked on criminal appeals. My first matter was an appeal of a 20-life sentence for a drug dealer who had, with a couple friends, kidnapped the younger siblings of a rival, (a 14 year old boy and a 9 year old girl), taken them to the machine room that is on the roof of every high rise building in the projects, tied them up, repeatedly raped the 9 year-old girl while they made her brother watch, stabbing him non-mortally every time he made a sound - over 40 stab wounds in total. There was no question this had happened. There were witnesses to the kids being taken and they risked their lives to testify. The boy testified as well, and he knew well the people who had done this. The bad news is that I found several issues that might constitute reversible error. In fact, 3 years after my painful stint as a summer justice warrior the sentence was overturned. I knew immediately after finishing my summer I could not do that again and so I turned my hand to making sure that your Hello Kitty purses were cheaply manufactured, the nameplates bearing the makers' trademarks were affixed to your elevators and escalators, and that if you had a purple pill you would know it was the brand name product and not a generic equivalent. But just because I was a whiny weakling does not mean that I ever lost my respect, nay veneration, for the people who do the hard work of seeing justice done in our deeply flawed and stunningly racist justice system in America. Having said that, there is not much else to say other than Brittany Barnnett is a fucking hero. Luckily she is a fuckng hero who writes really well. She tells her story and the stories of her clients. 7 of whom she got out of jail free, with grace and restraint and builds empathy on every page. She even made me respect Kim Kardashian and Diddy, who are helping her fight and win the good fight. People should know how many people are still serving life sentences for selling a gram or two of crack. The law has changed because at some point everyone realized the constitutional and ethical shortfalls for the absurd and spectacularly racist war on drugs, That does not, however, help the people who were thrown away during those years since the abolition of those laws had no retroactive effect. BTW, we can hate Reagan for this, and I do, but as much or more of the blame goes to the Clinton DOJ. This is an important book because it tells a story most white people have not heard and also because it connects us all to the work being done by Bennett and others (including Kim Kardashian) to change this story. I urge everyone to read A Knock at Midnight, and to consider a donation to The Buried Alive Project which you can learn more about here https://www.buriedaliveproject.org/.
November 12, 2020
A Knock at Midnight highlights a few stories among thousands. The underrepresented story of incarcerated Americans serving overly long sentences for the actual crimes they committed and the evidence in the cases against them. This has so much heart and hope. I loved that the centre of this story was Barnett's own memoir, her experiences in some of the same situations as her clients. Growing up with loving family but a parent who struggled with addiction during her adolescence. Barnett was gifted and was the hope of her family to make something of herself and give back to her community. This book captured all the tragedy and anger that Bennett, those incarcerated for inhumane lengths of time, their families and friends feel at the reality of racism in legal and carceral systems in America. It's a memoir about taking a lot of wrong in someone's and making something right for them because they deserve it. Injustice doesn't have to stay unjust if people like Barnett and those like her continue to overturn overly long sentences with their hard work and ingenuity. One person can make a difference. Sometimes good does triumph. Barnett undersells her accomplishments. She's not just an activist and a lawyer who has helped gain freedom for dozens of incarcerated people. She's also responsible for two non-profit organizations that focus on these issues and targeted communities.
She draws attention to the unethical practices of courts and judges when it comes to evidence and sentencing. "Federal law adopted a 100-to-1 ratio, treating one gram of crack as equivalent to one hundred grams of powder cocaine for sentencing purposes". This isn't just unjust and racist, it's nonsensical, she points out. She describes how mandatory minimum sentencing damages communities and families and undermines the whole idea of justice. Sometimes the laws she discusses are repealed, but if the repeal isn't applicable to past sentencing, so many continue to suffer. I'm Canadian so this isn't my system, but racism factors greatly into convictions in Canada so it's all relevant and stemming from the same colonial project to keep BIPOC at the bottom of the social ladder using systemic racism.
This story was so compelling in how it was written too. She doesn't give away how the fight for clemency will end for her clients, it's told moment to moment, month to month. As she gets a call to announce that one of her clients has been granted clemency, I feel the emotions that she is feeling too. I was crying washing dishes in my sink listening to this audiobook as Brittany's phone rang. The way she restores humanity to those who are commonly seen as uniforms, criminals, lifers. Who have their humanity stripped away alongside their freedom when they are convicted. I had to keep reading to hear if Sharonda would get out at all, let alone in time to see her first grandchild born. And it's important to note that some of the people she writes about never got out. Janice, Sharonda's paralyzed mother who was convicted of conspiracy through her daughter's connections to the drug trade in the most ludicrous, no-evidence necessary trial, was mistreated, neglected, and died in prison. She draws light to some of these truly tragic cases that don't end in clemency and freedom. My heart ached reading about years and lives wasted away in prison because of structural violence in the American legal system. What should be considered lesser offences are resulting in life sentences without chance of parole because the defendant is Black. A broken system designed to incarcerate BIPOC and profit off their labour. Another mechanism of the racial hierarchy of the country. If you liked Just Mercy or The New Jim Crow then A Knock at Midnight is along those lines. Barnett references Stevenson and Alexander a few times in the book so they are big influences for her powerful memoir and study of incarceration and racism in her country.
She draws attention to the unethical practices of courts and judges when it comes to evidence and sentencing. "Federal law adopted a 100-to-1 ratio, treating one gram of crack as equivalent to one hundred grams of powder cocaine for sentencing purposes". This isn't just unjust and racist, it's nonsensical, she points out. She describes how mandatory minimum sentencing damages communities and families and undermines the whole idea of justice. Sometimes the laws she discusses are repealed, but if the repeal isn't applicable to past sentencing, so many continue to suffer. I'm Canadian so this isn't my system, but racism factors greatly into convictions in Canada so it's all relevant and stemming from the same colonial project to keep BIPOC at the bottom of the social ladder using systemic racism.
This story was so compelling in how it was written too. She doesn't give away how the fight for clemency will end for her clients, it's told moment to moment, month to month. As she gets a call to announce that one of her clients has been granted clemency, I feel the emotions that she is feeling too. I was crying washing dishes in my sink listening to this audiobook as Brittany's phone rang. The way she restores humanity to those who are commonly seen as uniforms, criminals, lifers. Who have their humanity stripped away alongside their freedom when they are convicted. I had to keep reading to hear if Sharonda would get out at all, let alone in time to see her first grandchild born. And it's important to note that some of the people she writes about never got out. Janice, Sharonda's paralyzed mother who was convicted of conspiracy through her daughter's connections to the drug trade in the most ludicrous, no-evidence necessary trial, was mistreated, neglected, and died in prison. She draws light to some of these truly tragic cases that don't end in clemency and freedom. My heart ached reading about years and lives wasted away in prison because of structural violence in the American legal system. What should be considered lesser offences are resulting in life sentences without chance of parole because the defendant is Black. A broken system designed to incarcerate BIPOC and profit off their labour. Another mechanism of the racial hierarchy of the country. If you liked Just Mercy or The New Jim Crow then A Knock at Midnight is along those lines. Barnett references Stevenson and Alexander a few times in the book so they are big influences for her powerful memoir and study of incarceration and racism in her country.
December 7, 2020
I keep checking this out from the library and then not reading it due to the heavy subject matter. (It's been a dark year, y'all.) Then the other day Amazon named it their #1 book of 2020. My most recent library hold was about to expire, and I thought: It's now or never.
Thankfully, I chose now. Because this is an important and timely issue that all Americans should face head-on, even though it's painful and unpleasant. What issue am I referring to? The mass incarceration of people of color. Barnett's book deals specifically with non-violent offenders who were engaged in fairly minor drug crimes who got life sentences due to harsh and insane mandatory minimums.
And while this is a current issues book, it's not written like that. Barnett begins her story on a very personal note, describing her own mother's descent into addiction, her incarceration, and how it impacted their family. She writes about her determination to succeed, and her path to becoming a corporate lawyer. And she writes about the pro bono social justice work that gave her life meaning.
You'll meet several of the people that she fought for. These individuals don't come across as cases on the page, and it's very clear that Barnett doesn't see them that way, with so many of them continuing to be a part of her life. These stories are full of tragedy and drama, with wins and losses along the way. But I don't know how anyone can read this book and not see the humanity of the people she is writing about, and feel empathy for them and their loved ones.
Books like this leave me feeling frustrated and angry that I can't do more. And perhaps some day I'll figure out how I can. Until then, the very least I can do is be a witness and give a damn. Brittany Barnett is fighting to make the world a better, more equitable place. Fight on, Brittany!
If you would like to read two more excellent books that are subject adjacent, I recommend:
Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman, Jr.
&
Long Way Home: A Young Man Lost in the System and the Two Women Who Found Him by Laura Caldwell
Thankfully, I chose now. Because this is an important and timely issue that all Americans should face head-on, even though it's painful and unpleasant. What issue am I referring to? The mass incarceration of people of color. Barnett's book deals specifically with non-violent offenders who were engaged in fairly minor drug crimes who got life sentences due to harsh and insane mandatory minimums.
And while this is a current issues book, it's not written like that. Barnett begins her story on a very personal note, describing her own mother's descent into addiction, her incarceration, and how it impacted their family. She writes about her determination to succeed, and her path to becoming a corporate lawyer. And she writes about the pro bono social justice work that gave her life meaning.
You'll meet several of the people that she fought for. These individuals don't come across as cases on the page, and it's very clear that Barnett doesn't see them that way, with so many of them continuing to be a part of her life. These stories are full of tragedy and drama, with wins and losses along the way. But I don't know how anyone can read this book and not see the humanity of the people she is writing about, and feel empathy for them and their loved ones.
Books like this leave me feeling frustrated and angry that I can't do more. And perhaps some day I'll figure out how I can. Until then, the very least I can do is be a witness and give a damn. Brittany Barnett is fighting to make the world a better, more equitable place. Fight on, Brittany!
If you would like to read two more excellent books that are subject adjacent, I recommend:
Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America by James Forman, Jr.
&
Long Way Home: A Young Man Lost in the System and the Two Women Who Found Him by Laura Caldwell
May 4, 2024
Wow! This book is amazing and should be a must read. Brittany really explained sentencing requirements and enhancements- things I never truly understood in the past. This book explains the oppression and unfair practices so clearly, that even the most entitled and privileged person should hopefully be able to recognize the disparities. Such a powerful book with a call to action.
February 18, 2021
I read this book as part of the Reading Women Challenge - a book about incarceration - and WOW this is an outstanding, brutal, eye-opening, honest and mandatory read. There is soooooo much to say about this book, that I’m just going to say, READ IT! Then discuss!
October 1, 2020
POWERFUL. EMOTIONAL. Those are just some of the words that describe this extraordinary book that chronicles Ms. Barnett's personal life witnessing her mother's incarceration due to drug use and then her professional career which has resulted in the release of so many people who were victims of an oppressive sentencing scheme.
Part of what I enjoyed about this book is it's unique place in criminal law. If you've ever read "Just Mercy" or other books about wrongful convictions you see an ugly side of the law whereby players in the criminal justice system intentionally act in ways that are morally and ethically reprehensible or act with such an incredible amount of ignorance and negligence you wonder how they manage to stay employed. Those books detail all the obvious facts pointing to the accused's factual innocence and the ensuing emotional and psychological turmoil of the appellate process in trying to right the underlying wrongs committed at the trial level. As the reader, you should be sickened that a person has spent years, decades even, for a crime they did not commit. Even a day behind bars was too much.
For the most part, this book shows people who committed a crime by being playing a role (usually minor) in the sale and/or distribution of crack cocaine. I say "for the most part" because there are people in this book who clearly were at the wrong place/wrong time or were used as scapegoats by others looking to avoid harsh sentences when they did absolutely nothing illegal and that is a true travesty. But the bulk of Ms. Barnett's efforts are spent advocating for good people who made a bad decision or two and as a result of overzealous prosecutors combined with draconian laws that eliminated judicial discretion were sentenced to life in prison.
Ms. Barnett's drive and passion are truly remarkable. Her willingness to put in 14-16 hours per day at her corporate law job and then go home to read trial transcripts and write clemency petitions is awe-inspiring. Combine that with the emotional toil of trying to get a commutation for a client who received a sentence totally disproportionate to their role or conduct. I imagine that having to sit and wait for a response on a clemency petition is akin to the nerves a trial attorney endures waiting for a jury to return with a verdict; no matter how much time and effort you put into your presentation of the case, the ultimate decision of your client's fate is in someone else's hands which is an incredibly nerve-racking experience.
I'm not ashamed to admit that there were moments when I was on the verge of tears when Ms. Barnett received the call that her petition was granted and she got to relay this news to her clients. The joy of telling someone that after spending decades in prison of a life sentence they get to go home to their family must have been very emotional.
This book does a great job of simply and succinctly explaining the laws created to combat the "War on Drugs" and the changes that have been made to rectify sentencing disparities. The true gem of this book is the hopefulness and optimism exhibited by Sharanda Jones, Corey Jacobs, Chris Young, Alice Johnson and others who were the beneficiaries of Ms. Barnett's legal help. It would have been so easy to become despondent and give up when the judges imposed their life sentences. Often young, first-time offenders, with families including children who they might never see again in free society. And despite it all they maintained faith that one day they would get out. They continued their educations, they mentored others, and they had positive attitudes in the most degrading of places, prison.
Added bonus: although Ms. Barnett is not a natural writer by trade, I thought this book was very well-written and edited.
Part of what I enjoyed about this book is it's unique place in criminal law. If you've ever read "Just Mercy" or other books about wrongful convictions you see an ugly side of the law whereby players in the criminal justice system intentionally act in ways that are morally and ethically reprehensible or act with such an incredible amount of ignorance and negligence you wonder how they manage to stay employed. Those books detail all the obvious facts pointing to the accused's factual innocence and the ensuing emotional and psychological turmoil of the appellate process in trying to right the underlying wrongs committed at the trial level. As the reader, you should be sickened that a person has spent years, decades even, for a crime they did not commit. Even a day behind bars was too much.
For the most part, this book shows people who committed a crime by being playing a role (usually minor) in the sale and/or distribution of crack cocaine. I say "for the most part" because there are people in this book who clearly were at the wrong place/wrong time or were used as scapegoats by others looking to avoid harsh sentences when they did absolutely nothing illegal and that is a true travesty. But the bulk of Ms. Barnett's efforts are spent advocating for good people who made a bad decision or two and as a result of overzealous prosecutors combined with draconian laws that eliminated judicial discretion were sentenced to life in prison.
Ms. Barnett's drive and passion are truly remarkable. Her willingness to put in 14-16 hours per day at her corporate law job and then go home to read trial transcripts and write clemency petitions is awe-inspiring. Combine that with the emotional toil of trying to get a commutation for a client who received a sentence totally disproportionate to their role or conduct. I imagine that having to sit and wait for a response on a clemency petition is akin to the nerves a trial attorney endures waiting for a jury to return with a verdict; no matter how much time and effort you put into your presentation of the case, the ultimate decision of your client's fate is in someone else's hands which is an incredibly nerve-racking experience.
I'm not ashamed to admit that there were moments when I was on the verge of tears when Ms. Barnett received the call that her petition was granted and she got to relay this news to her clients. The joy of telling someone that after spending decades in prison of a life sentence they get to go home to their family must have been very emotional.
This book does a great job of simply and succinctly explaining the laws created to combat the "War on Drugs" and the changes that have been made to rectify sentencing disparities. The true gem of this book is the hopefulness and optimism exhibited by Sharanda Jones, Corey Jacobs, Chris Young, Alice Johnson and others who were the beneficiaries of Ms. Barnett's legal help. It would have been so easy to become despondent and give up when the judges imposed their life sentences. Often young, first-time offenders, with families including children who they might never see again in free society. And despite it all they maintained faith that one day they would get out. They continued their educations, they mentored others, and they had positive attitudes in the most degrading of places, prison.
Added bonus: although Ms. Barnett is not a natural writer by trade, I thought this book was very well-written and edited.
May 5, 2020
This book made me so mad (in the right way). The author used her own life experiences (drug addicted mom, unpredictable living arrangements) as motivation to take on two different passion projects. The first was launching Girls embracing Mothers - a program the provides interactive and therapeutic time for incarcerated women to spend with their own daughters. Programs like this are priceless in breaking the cycle of generational incarceration.
Second, she launched a crusade to free people with drug sentences from life in prison. She did not limit her work to clients with the perfect story. Instead, she took on the fact that drug sentencing in the 80s and 90s was so out of control that you could get a longer sentence for being a low level drug dealer than you would get for murder. She used her skills as a lawyer to write compelling cases to get sentences commuted - one sentence at a time.
She did all of this while earning two degrees (accounting, law) and becoming a successful corporate lawyer in Dallas. Amazing story.
I'm disappointed that this got pushed back to fall for publication due to the pandemic because I want to buy this book and send it to everyone. Great Book.
Second, she launched a crusade to free people with drug sentences from life in prison. She did not limit her work to clients with the perfect story. Instead, she took on the fact that drug sentencing in the 80s and 90s was so out of control that you could get a longer sentence for being a low level drug dealer than you would get for murder. She used her skills as a lawyer to write compelling cases to get sentences commuted - one sentence at a time.
She did all of this while earning two degrees (accounting, law) and becoming a successful corporate lawyer in Dallas. Amazing story.
I'm disappointed that this got pushed back to fall for publication due to the pandemic because I want to buy this book and send it to everyone. Great Book.
February 19, 2021
If you're someone who wants to continue to learn about the justice system in the United States, this one should be on your list.
Watch my full review here: https://youtu.be/0C7caG1wqLU
Watch my full review here: https://youtu.be/0C7caG1wqLU
April 9, 2024
Knock at Midnight is a memoir written by Brittany K. Barnett where she shares her experiences as a lawyer working on criminal justice reform and advocating for the release of individuals who were unfairly sentenced due to harsh drug laws. Brittany grew up in poverty with a mother who fell into drugs and became incarcerated which fueled her to study, become a lawyer and advocate for those in need.
It’s shocking to think a first time offender with barely any crack on them can go to jail for life and treated like a murderer. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Thank the Jesus up above for Barack Obama for he used his clemency power to reduce the sentences of individuals convicted of non violent drug offenses who were serving life/30+ years to under mandatory minimum sentences. It’s so heartbreaking to hear the stories of being locked up and time they lost for one mistake. Barnett has made such an immense impact peoples lives. She has cofounded both the Buried Alive Project and Girls Embracing Mothers organizations which aim to address issues related to mass incarceration and support impacted individuals and families. This is a must read memoir for all walks of life.
4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
It’s shocking to think a first time offender with barely any crack on them can go to jail for life and treated like a murderer. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Thank the Jesus up above for Barack Obama for he used his clemency power to reduce the sentences of individuals convicted of non violent drug offenses who were serving life/30+ years to under mandatory minimum sentences. It’s so heartbreaking to hear the stories of being locked up and time they lost for one mistake. Barnett has made such an immense impact peoples lives. She has cofounded both the Buried Alive Project and Girls Embracing Mothers organizations which aim to address issues related to mass incarceration and support impacted individuals and families. This is a must read memoir for all walks of life.
4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
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