Required reading by everyone. This is a passionate and loving portrayal of those incarcerated for drugs crimes. Bennett is clear with the facts and gives a face and respect from those who have been denied such things. It’s a beautiful book that everyone should read.

Brittany K. Barnett was a perfect fit for corporate law. As a certified public accountant who comes from a family with an entrepreneurial spirit, it made sense to fulfill her childhood dream and become a lawyer. But the same east Texas upbringing that gave her the ambition to succeed as a corporate attorney also wound up pulling her toward what her mother calls her "heart work": clemency and sentencing reform.

In A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom, Barnett describes how the war on drugs preyed upon the community she grew up in. It eventually led to her mother, who was fighting a drug addiction, being imprisoned for two years when Barnett was a young adult.

In this new episode of the Modern Law Library podcast, Barnett shares how that formative experience changed her and made her identify strongly with Sharanda Jones, an incarcerated woman Barnett met during law school. Jones had been given a lifetime sentence without the possibility of parole for a first-time drug offense.

Barnett’s fight to free Jones expanded into a larger mission as she became involved in the Obama administration’s clemency project, and she continued that work after the Trump administration signed the First Step Act into law.

Working with celebrities like Kim Kardashian West and Sean “Diddy” Combs has helped her bring needed attention to certain cases, she tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles. But incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people can be tremendous advocates for themselves and should be the directing force behind the work. She also shares details about two nonprofits she’s founded, the Buried Alive Project and Girls Embracing Mothers.

This is the true story of a young lawyer, on her quest to help those incarcerated during the War on Drugs, suffering at the hands of an unfair and unjust system. Barnett’s story is especially poignant with her own personal experiences woven through the narrative.

By now, we’ve all heard about these types of cases (and if you haven’t, you need to pay more attention - read this and also I highly recommend The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander) - the War on Drugs left the system in shambles, mandatory sentencing laws sending first time offenders to prison and outrageous trumped up charges ruining the lives of countless - as described in this book. Even if you think you’ve heard all this before, I think it’s just so important to hear these things with a name, a personal story, a family - it humanizes the tragedy of these sentences. This book will outrage you and bring you to tears, and make you praise the brave people like Barnett who take on this work (in her case, starting out pro bono in addition to her full time corporate attorney job!!!). But for every person she was able to help there are no doubt thousands more. We failed our communities in so many ways.

“For most of its history, our country has worked so hard to demonize incarcerated people that we forget that they are our mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Everyday people, all. Human beings who are not bad people, just made poor choices.”

I was able to complete it in three days. Inspiringly, the author's background enables her to write about other people with compassion and insight. She has a special talent for giving humanity to the many persons who are wrongfully imprisoned for nonviolent offenses. For me, the most significant component was emphasizing the unrealized potential of those who have been denied justice. Incredible amounts of inner fortitude are on show in the face of a sentence of life in jail without possibility of release. Because of Barnett's selfless commitment to securing their liberation, I've been thinking about what steps I can do to help as well. Her experience highlights the immediate need to change the way we handle criminal cases. In my opinion, this is a must-read book.

Brittany Barnett tells her story of growing up in a Dallas suburb with a mother addicted to drugs and eventually is imprisoned. Barnett overcomes her situation and goes to school with the hopes of becoming a corporate lawyer. Barnett unwittingly gets pulled in to help a prisoner and quickly finds the racial inequities caused by the "War On Drugs".
My biggest problem with this book is that Barnett definitely sugar coats her childhood. Everything is wonderful and home and then out of nowhere Mom is addicted to crack and going to jail. Luckily this is only the first part of the book and the rest is absolutely fascinating and eye-opening.
People who enjoyed Bryan Stevenson's "Just Mercy" will find this book equally as riveting.

Wow, such an amazing story. Love this book. Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read/review.

TWO-CENT TUESDAY

Below are a few (somewhat) brief, $.02 opinions about books I've read or listened to recently but don't have the time, inclination, or opportunity to review in full. Their appearance in this recurring piece often has little to nothing to do with merit. Some I enjoyed as much or more than those that got the full court press. I hope you'll consider one or two for your own TBR stack if they strike your fancy whether they struck mine or not.

KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF

A Knock at Midnight, by Brittany K. Barnett

This book is not what I was expecting. I went in blind, sold by the cover, title, and rave recommendations from trusted sources. What I got was a searing and enraging look at the cost of America's ridiculous and racist "war on drugs" and the sentencing guidelines that have ravaged our communities of color.

Brittany Barnett was a brilliant student on her way to becoming an accountant when she learned of Sharanda Jones, a single mother, business owner and prison inmate given a life sentence for a minor (and first) drug offense. This was the first of many cases that changed Barnett's path along with those of numerous individuals who paid prices far beyond their offenses. Now an attorney and co-founder of Buried Alive, Barnett pens a fascinating look at a broken system. Required reading.

WOW, WOW, WOW -- 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷/5 Cheers!⁣
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"Mass incarceration is the most pressing civil rights issue of our time" -- Brittany K. Barnett, A Knock At Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice and Freedom⁣⁣
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I had the honor and pleasure of hosting Brittany K. Barnett for the Diverse Spines spine for the month #book chat today. I’m completely floored by A KNOCK AT MIDNIGHT. I'll be thinking about this memoir for a very long time. I don’t think I’ve had a reaction to a book of this nature, one that examines the racial disparities and unjust laws targeting Black people, since I read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. ⁣⁣
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Page after page Brittany shows you how the criminal justice system intertwined with the 'War on Drugs' became a war on Black communities. From the 1986 Drug Abuse Act, to mandatory sentencing laws -- all designed to prey on and criminalize Black people.⁣⁣
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I will not give too much away because I believe you need to read this book to feel the weight of what people are experiencing in an unjust system. I felt a sense of anger, bewilderment and astonishment as Brittany peeled back the layers of the criminal (in)justice system. The lack of humanity and empathy was overwhelmingly suffocating. Non-violent, first time offenders, who admitted to their crimes, receiving life sentences without parole. ⁣⁣
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I'm in awe of the fortitude, strength and perseverance Brittany displays as she us fights for justice. I had to keep reminding myself that she is not a criminial lawyer, she's a corporate lawyer doing pro-bono work!! She is changing lives and impacting families for generations. I cried several times while reading this book. This is an important read. It's a must read for all!!⁣⁣. THANK YOU Brittany for everything that you are doing to make this world a better place.

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 the 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 education, heartbreaking, inspirational and hopeful!

A Knock at Midnight is a page turner from the beginning. Barnett's writing inspires such deep compassion about the people whose lives have been forever touched (and destroyed) by America's War on Drugs. It's a great lens into the unfairness of the system and how it fails people in a very profound, life-altering way. A must-read to get a sense of urgency for reform and a need for justice for those who are unable to defend themselves.

A Knock at Midnight ended up being a timely and insightful book that is part memoir and part a deep dive into the flaws of our judicial system in America, particularly for people of color.

Currently, racism in our country often hides under the surface through systemic injustices that are not always easy to see at first glance. A place these systemic injustices are incredibly prevalent is in our American justice system. Author Brittany Barnett sought to make changes after seeing the harsh prison sentencing her own mother faced for possession of drugs as a black woman. This inhumane incarceration had devastating emotional effects on Barnett and her family.

Ultimately, Barnett took these life-changing childhood experiences and worked towards helping other families as she pursued her goal of attaining her own law degree to advocate for change. She shares her personal stories of what drug addiction looked like in her own family, and also how our country responded during Reagan's "war on drugs" in the 1980s which disproportionately affected people of color with much harsher sentencing for minor felonies.

Barnett became a crusader for change and A Knock at Midnight shares the fights she took on with her own clients in the quest to find justice, showing just how powerful even one voice can be. Barnett is a survivor and her own resiliency not only helped shape her own life but so many others along the way.

Through her own pro-bono work and her non-profits The Buried Alive Project and G.E.M, Girls Embracing Mothers, Barnett has made an impact on so many. This book is compelling, eye-opening, and shows the power of just one person, in the fight for social justice and long-lasting change.

Thank you to Crown Publishing for a gifted copy in change for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. You can read this and other book reviews at gentehbookworm.com

If you liked Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, you will love this one. Brittany Barnett’s story begins when as a young girl her attentive, loving mother becomes addicted to crack cocaine. It is the rural south at the height of the epidemic. Not only was her mother stripped of her career as a nurse but sentenced to life in prison. It will make you question why an addict with no criminal or violent history could possibly be sentenced to life in prison. Within Brittany’s story are many other of her relatives and friends who although guilty of minor drug charges end up being “ buried alive by America’s unjust legal system”
Brittany, who eventually becomes a high powered attorney takes the reader along on her fight to free others with the same fate as her mother. The most famous of them being Sharanda Jones. She gets very close and personal with her clients, which makes it that much more emotional as she fights for their freedom. I highly recommend for anyone interested in really understanding the impact of this injustice and the in-proportionate number of black lives lost to the “ war against drugs”.

I cannot review this title highly enough. This book is perfect for today’s market. But it is a rare thing right mow that can give both solutions and hope. I was inspired and motivated. (In fact, I have already recommended it to my local independent book store.

“A system that did everything in its power to dehumanize and still failed was a vulnerable system. And a vulnerable system can be transformed.”

Brittany Barnett’s mom was incarcerated when she was young. She and her sister, Jasmine, traveled weekly across the state to visit, She saw first hand the effects of incarceration not just on the inmate, but also on the family. That motivated Brittany to survive, to question, and ultimately to change the very system she was inside.

I am ashamed to admit my ignorance of this subject. Especially in this election year, it is illustrated daily that laws in this country can be exploited. All too many people suffer. Brittany doesn’t tell her story for sympathy. She tells it in a matter-of-fact way. The same way she describes her circumstances.

Once her Mom is released, Brittany goes to law school. Although she specializes in corporate law, her old neighbors continue to call, asking for help with cases. They draw her in, one case at a time, until she sees a YouTube video about a woman named Sharanda - who has the same identification number as her mom. Sharanda is a victim of circumstance and the Draconian laws allegedly designed to coerce people through threats and fear. If they don’t turn on others, their sentences are maxed - sometime without their knowledge. Forensic evidence? Irrelevant. Prior record? Irrelevant.

In my opinion, this book shows one of the truest American dreams - life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for ALL persons. All too many have their lives stripped away, their families wrecked for no good reason. Change is inevitable. There are simply too many casualties. Clemency is a gift given to far too few. Especially now.

I admire Brittany’s tenacity, Sharonda’s grit, her mother’s determination and the faith and spirit that bunds them all together. I learned from this book. It made me think. I was educated and inspired. And it makes me feel better to know that things can, must and do change, And to focus on the positive instead of the negatives,

Let me start by saying A Knock at Midnight is one of the best memoirs I’ve read in a long time and definitely a contender for my best books of the year. In it, Brittany K. Barnett shares her amazing life journey and at the same time makes clear exactly how the “War on Drugs” unfairly incarcerated hundreds of thousands of Black, Brown and poor people. Barnett shares her early experiences with drugs seeping into her own community, and how the law sought to punish without much regard to the level of involvement. Her mother spent more than one stint in jail including two years in prison on drug charges. More than anything, the heartbreak of visits to her mom in prison changed the course of Brittany’s life. Slowly she made the shift from a career as a high paid corporate accountant to a young attorney fighting to free people from ridiculously long, wildly unfair drug sentences.

What I loved most about A Knock at Midnight was that Barnett put faces on the cruelty of the “War on Drugs.” Last summer I read books by Ibram X. Kendi, Ta-Neshi Coates, and others that talked about how the “100 to 1” laws started filling prisons with Black and Brown people in the 80”s, devastating entire communities and filling our prison systems to overflowing. In her memoir, Barnett shares the almost unbelievable stories of people she fought to free from the Federal Justice System. Their sentences were shocking, as the laws allowed more and more years to be piled on, often with little to no evidence. I learned so much from A Knock at Midnight, but it also had the “could not put it down” quality of a great novel. I’m so glad I read this memoir and I’m thankful that Brittany K. Barnett is the woman she is, doing the work she does. Add this one to your list of MUST reads!

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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.

This is one of the most powerful memoirs I have ever read and I'm left speechless. It is a painful look at the flaws in our criminal justice system through the cases of some incredible people, most specifically, Sharanda Jones. I recommend this book to every single human being.

I can't recommend this book enough. 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.

Brittany K. Barnett didn’t set out to be a crusader. She was just a rural East Texas girl with a big, supportive extended family and few cares in the world. That was before her mother fell victim to crack. “When the drug war came for us,” she writes in her inspiring new book “A Knock at Midnight,” “it came with a vengeance. When the drug war came for us, it came straight for my mom.”

Driving hours to see her mother in lockup, becoming aware of the many other, mostly Black citizens doing time for drugs, Barnett grew alarmed at some of the federal drug laws on the books. For instance, the so-called 100-to-1 rule, under which possession of crack mandates a sentence 100 times longer than that for powder cocaine. Even after her mother was released, and Barnett became a law student at the University of Houston and then Southern Methodist University, she couldn’t shake what she saw as the enormity of injustice surrounding mass incarceration in America.

Particularly jarring: the number of life sentences handed down for crack-possession charges.

‘A Knock at Midnight:

A Story of Hope,

Justice, and Freedom’

by Brittany K. Barnett

Crown

336 pages, $28

“I think we have to remember as Americans that life without parole is the second-harshest imaginable punishment permitted by law in America,” Barnett says during a recent interview. Indeed, there’s only one sentence worse, and that’s death.

“A Knock at Midnight” tells the story of how Barnett converted outrage into action, putting her money where her mouth is time and again, getting knocked down nine times and getting up 10. Barnett doesn’t have to proclaim herself a hero; instead, her actions fit the designation.

After law school, Barnett was on the corporate law fast track at Dallas-based ORIX, where she delighted in closing deals and being a role model for other Black women seeking a place in the corridors of power. But after work, she would go home and stay up all night pursuing her true passion: petitioning President Barack Obama to grant clemency to inmates serving life sentences for drugs. In a sense, she had two jobs: one increasingly lucrative and frequently exciting; the other pro bono and filling her soul with a sense of purpose.

Eventually, when it came time to make a choice, she followed her heart.

“I felt like I wasn’t fulfilling my highest and best use in the world, and so I had to make a tough decision,” she says. “I don’t regret it. I won’t pretend like it was not a very tough decision to leave such a financially secure position where I was on such a rapid trajectory for advancement and then to fly out into the unknown. So that was not easy, but I’m glad that I took the leap.”

Today she has partners with a tragically intimate knowledge of her purpose. Sharanda Jones and Corey Jacobs were among the many for whom Barnett won clemency; both were already several years into life sentences. Now Jones and Jacobs work with Barnett on the Buried Alive Project, which strives to dismantle life-without-parole sentences handed down under federal drug laws.

“A Knock at Midnight” isn’t your ordinary memoir. It carries the force of urgent action, and it calls attention to sentencing laws that must be read to be believed.

Most important, it bears the toil and triumph of freedom hard won. That’s a quality that readers will have a hard time taking for granted after reading these pages.

https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/books/midnight-knocks-our-system-of-crime-and-15617241

After reading about Sharonda's story, which mimicked her mother's history, Attorney Brittany Barnett set out to right the wrongs perpetrated by government officials during the height of the crack epidemic. This is a must read story, proves why elections are so important, as well as black and brown people serving on local juries. There were many times my heart was breaking while reading this book. And considering the current climate, this book gives a lot of the insight of our American justice system. Marvelous job.

This was a well written nonfiction book that at times got bogged down for me in too many legal details. I found Brittany's dedication and commitment so inspiring. Her story really shined a light on what is so wrong with our criminal justice system and I felt for Sharanda. I think many will be enthralled by this story as I was at times. For some reason, although I definitely wanted to read on and find out more about all the people and the outcomes, there were times the writing felt slow and tedious. I still recommend as a relevant and timely read!