“Of the nearly 185,000 people in federal prison in 2018, 46.2 percent were there for drug offenses. Almost half of the people in federal prison serving life without parole had been convicted of a drug crime, and 80 percent of them were people of color.”–Brittany K. Barnett, A Knock at Midnight
Brittany K. Barnett was a law student when she came across the case of a single mother, Sharanda Jones, sentenced to life in prison for a first time drug offense. This began a journey for Brittany which opened her eyes to a legal system with rampant racial inequity. Brittany saw parallels between her own mother and Sharanda and determined to help free her. This was not her original career plan. She had hoped to pursue a career in corporate law, utilizing her accounting background, but the more Brittany learned about the inequity of the legal system, particularly in regards to sentencing for drug crimes, the more she knew she needed to help the victims of this injustice.
It was disheartening and maddening to read about corrupt prosecutors and judges and the sentencing disparity between black and white defendants for the same crime. In the same vein as Just Mercy and The Sun Does Shine, this is an important book that brings awareness to the national travesty of justice that has been committed against people of color.
Content Advisory: Language, drug use, domestic abuse