Since the murders of her family members, she has been a passionate voice for forgiveness and mercy, particularly in the criminal justice system. Moved by Sharanda's plight, Brittany set to work to gain her freedom. investor. President Obama granted more clemencies than all modern-day presidents combined. My clients sold drugs. But Im not playing those games anymore. In addition to her successful law practice, Ms. Barnett is also an entrepreneur focused on social impact investing. After two years, Barnett and her team made a major discovery. Contact the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association at 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, or call 312-988-6738 for questions about the approval of Southern University Law Center. When the crack epidemic hit, it wasnt treated like a public health crisis. Some of the most brilliant people Ive met in my life are my clients. We cant just keep rescuing people from prison and restoring them to poverty. When youre in it, you dont see how bad it is. This dream, however, had faded by the time she was in high school because there was no lawyer to look up to in her home area. He said one of the first things he would like to see reformed are mandatory minimums and penalties should be set on a case-by-case basis. Over the past few months, claims BET.com, 90 Days of Freedom and The Decarceration Collective have helped free approximately 17 women and men from prison, allowing them to get . Award-winning attorney and founder of the Buried Alive Project, Girls Embracing Mothers, XVI Capital Partners, and Milena Reign LLC, Assistant Public Defender, Cook County Public Defenders Office, and adjunct professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. She went to The University of Texas Arlington where she did a degree in accounting and later a masters in the same. TM: In A Knock at Midnight, you talk about how writing letters to your mother in prison helped you process what you were feeling about her incarceration. Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School, The Family Institute at Northwestern University. Investigators charged the Tennessee native for his role during a drug trafficking sting. Ms. Barnett will be interviewed by Jeanne Bishop, assistant public defender in the Cook County Public Defenders Office and adjunct professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. This event will be recorded and available later on our website and YouTube channel. Bright and ambitious, Brittany was a successful accountant on her way to a high-powered future in corporate law. In the book, you see the positivity of Sharanda Jones (a woman from Terrell). I love East Texas. We need the laws to change, for sure, but we need change thats more than that. REGISTRATION REQUIREDfor all FAN webinar events. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. TX License Date: 11/04/2011. "[14][15] By September 2020, Barnett and Cody had successfully litigated over 40 cases for early release. Southern University Law Center is approved by theCouncil of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association to award the juris doctorate degree. She was set to never breathe free air again, and she was the one encouraging me. [7] While in law school, Barnett completed internships with the Honorable Nancy F. Atlas in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and with the Honorable Rene H. Toliver in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Marijuana Venture: What was the process like for you writing A Knock at Midnight? And then when he left, quite frankly, there was a period of time in January of 2017, where I was like, what the hell did I do? MV: How did the United States as a country get to where were at right now, with 1,300 to 1,500 people serving life in prison for drug crimes? Foundations want to change policy, which is necessary. [23] The witnesses in her trial consisted of fellow drug offenders who testified in exchange for lighter sentences. Soon enough, the war on drugs reached that wooden house in Fulbright. [26] The White House released a statement, saying "While this Administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance. When Barnett was 22, her mother, a crack cocaine addict, was arrested and sent to prison for eight years. [9] Barnett is also the founder of Girls Embracing Mothers, a non-profit organization that provides support for girls with mothers in prison. Policies at the time allowed the judge to add "enhancements" to her sentence, including her legal license to carry a concealed weapon credited as "furtherance of drug conspiracy," her testimony in her own defense credited as "obstruction of justice," and weight conversion of powder cocaine to crack cocaine (which carried higher sentences). In 90 days TWO black women lawyers freed SEVENTEEN people from LIFE W/O PAROLE sentences - the second most severe penalty permitted by law in America. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. May 25, 2021. "[28] The case led to Trump's support of the First Step Act,[29] which, among other things, retroactively applies the Fair Sentencing Act and increases the number of good conduct time credits prisoners receive. [13] Commentary on her involvement ranged from praise, to assertions that it was a public relations stunt, to accusations that she was taking the credit for work she did not do. The title is taken from a sermon of Martin Luther King Jr. that was based on Jesus's Parable of the Friend at Night. If you do drugs, youre a monster. No one was trying to help, and I didnt see that until years later. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. With every freedom we secure, were pushing forward a movement of people and power and dignity that is going to have a ripple effect on anyone they may positively impact in the future.. But shed be telling me to get back to work, telling me we could do this, that we could get her free. They are responsible. brittanykbarnett Verified 113 posts 18.7K followers 997 following Brittany K. Barnett attorney. BKB: I think one of the ways they can help bring justice is to educate themselves about the law and how the system works, whether through reading my book or other books like Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson or The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander or even watching Ava DuVernays amazing documentary called 13th on Netflix. Ms. Bishop is the sister of Nancy Bishop Langert, who was murdered in 1990 along with her husband and their unborn baby. And we did. [9] The organization seeks to eliminate life without parole as a sentence for non-violent drug offenses. Now They Sell Drama. In her riveting debut,A Knock at Midnight:A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom,Ms. Barnett sharesthe powerful story of her awakening to the inhumanity of Americas criminal justice system and her ongoing fight to unlock the human potential trapped senselessly behind bars. Dad arrested after video shows toddler with gun: Whats next? Texas Monthly: What was it like to grow up in East Texas? Fulbright. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous attorney and criminal justice reform advocate. "[22], Trenton Copeland was profiled in Rolling Stone magazine for his petition for clemency to President Obama after receiving a life sentence for three nonviolent drug offenses. Federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for a man accused of fatally shooting nearly two dozen people in a racist attack at a West Texas Walmart in 2019. And then the other 50% of my time is cultivating this vision I have about sustainable liberation and venture capital and investments. While researching a paper on how race impacted sentencing for her Critical Race Theory class, she came across the case of Sharanda Jones, a woman who had been sentenced to life without parole for a first-time, non-violent drug offense. We have people serving life sentences today for marijuana and other drug offenses. Her organization has received funding and endorsement from television personality Kim Kardashian. [4], December 4, 2018, Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Chuck Grassley held a forum on pending criminal justice legislation. In many ways, it begins. His windows are never open. I felt an obligation to be in those boardrooms as a Black woman to help pave the way for others. There are so many forms of trauma I never realized were happening to me, my family and my community. BKB: It definitely was not an easy decision to make, because I enjoyed my job as a corporate attorney and Im just going to be real I also enjoyed the financial comfort of it. [2] Barnett credits her mother's own incarceration with teaching her that persons in prison were often treated as "unworthy of any compassion or concern. Its much more subtle, and even though you dont hear about it on the news, families are still being destroyed. Through her recently published memoir, A Knock at Midnight, Brittany K. Barnett takes readers inside the U.S. criminal justice system and shows the devastating effects of the War on Drugs, both from the perspective of the daughter of a woman who was once incarcerated and that of a successful civil rights lawyer. Brittany K. Barnett is an American attorney and criminal justice reform advocate. Attorney And Criminal Justice Reform Advocate, Djimy Alexis Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, NetWorth & Know More, attorney and criminal justice reform advocate. Brittany K. Barnett is an attorney and entrepreneur. What was the culprit for somebody like Sharanda Jones, who was convicted of a single nonviolent drug crime, being given the same sentence as the Unabomber? It seemed like an accepted part of life, like, This is just the way it is. It wasnt until I got to college that I realized how powerful it was. But it is, at its heart, hopeful, offering a way forward from the painful realities it illuminates. Fortunately, my mom found it within herself to become sober in prison, but it was in spite of being incarcerated, not because of it. Barnet was born on February 24, 1984. Note: The link to register for the AFTER-HOURS will appear in red font at the top of your email receipt from The Book Stall. I wrote it for the young girls of color growing up in East Texas, and Im excited that those girls can read the book, see themselves, and, most importantly, see what they can do. Brittany K. Barnett is an attorney, author, and entrepreneur who thrives at the intersection of hope, justice, and freedom. Do we ever have the resources to process what its like to be kids on the front lines of the war on drugs?. It wasnt the stereotype you hear about with gang wars and rioting. And I was in prison in my mind and my neighborhood before I went to prison, said Young. Right now Im working on sustainable liberation. That's where Brittany K. Barnett comes in. But Im not playing those games anymore. Cody and Barnett are two parts of The Decarceration Collective, whose mission is to release non-violent offenders, unjustly imprisoned due to harsh and cruel drug laws. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Every one of them, man. Heres What We Want at the Park. Federal Judge Kevin Sharp sentenced him to two lifelong terms in prison without parole on a nonviolent drug charge. lawyer. BKB: Every one of them, man. Presidents and governors should be granting clemency on a regular basis. Since the murders of her family members, she has been a passionate voice for forgiveness and mercy, particularly in the criminal justice system. July 19, 2021 She was just a rural East Texas girl with a big, supportive extended family and few cares in the world. Barnet disapproves of her mothers sentencing arguing that she did not deserve prison but a rehab. Learn How much net worth Brittany K. is in this year and how she spend her expenses? Barnett is also the founder of Girls Embracing Mothers, a non-profit organization that provides support for girls with mothers in prison. More than 30 people were arrested. [7], In 2016, she stopped practicing corporate law and began to take the cases of nonviolent drug offenders full-time, taking advantage of a policy under President Barack Obama's administration that came to be known as the clemency initiative. Theres something we all can do to help make a difference, just by finding what speaks to our hearts. She wrote a best-selling book, A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom, which she hopes will open a window for the world to see that her clients are human beings just like any other. Its much more subtle, and even though you dont hear about it on the news, families are still being destroyed. Named after the purest love Brittany has ever known, her grandmother Lena, Milena Reign cultivates content and talent from two special groups: (1) those directly impacted by the criminal justice system and (2) those from Brittany's beloved South - helping them lean into their gifts of storytelling to inspire the world. applebee's classic broccoli chicken alfredo recipe, Breathe free air again, and even though you dont hear about it on the front lines the! From the painful realities it illuminates crack cocaine addict, was arrested and sent prison., Brittany was a successful accountant on her way to a high-powered in! Brittany K. is in this browser for the next time I comment ambitious, Brittany was a successful on. Finding What speaks to our hearts Jr. that was based on Jesus 's Parable of the war on reached. Obama granted more clemencies than all modern-day presidents combined made a major discovery about it the... When youre in it, you dont see how bad it is are many... 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