A Knock at Midnight

April 1, 2020
A welcome new addition to the groaning shelves of books about the critically flawed U.S. legal system. For the first 90 pages, Barnett, born in 1984, focuses on her youth as a black female in rural East Texas whose drug-addicted mother ended up in prison. In the remainder of the book, the author mixes straightforward memoir with inspiring accounts of her crusades for social justice. Determined to avoid her mother's fate, Barnett worked diligently to graduate from college, after which she found work at a top accounting firm and then earned a law degree. The author is painfully aware of the racism built into the criminal justice system, including the absurd prison terms handed down to black drug users and dealers--the most egregious being "the 100-to-1 crack-to-powder-cocaine sentencing ratio." Though corporate law was her initial goal, while studying for a criminal law course, Barnett learned about Sharanda Jones, who had received a life sentence for a first-time drug offense. The author poignantly writes about how she was able to identify with families torn apart by such heavy-handed sentences. After obtaining a job in the finance and banking group of a corporate law firm in 2011, Barnett devoted her spare time to advocacy. She hoped to win the release of Jones and others in similar situations through reversals in the appellate courts. When that avenue failed, the author decided that seeking clemency from the president was the only option, no matter the long odds--especially given Barack Obama's general reluctance to grant pardons. Eventually, however, Obama granted clemency to Jones and other pro bono clients of Barnett's. In 2016, the author left her corporate career to follow her passion for representing "all those suffering under draconian drug-sentencing laws." Among her impressive not-for-profit initiatives are the Buried Alive Project and the Girls Embracing Mothers project. Considering her youthfulness, Barnett has accomplished more reform than most individuals could accomplish in two lifetimes.

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Starred review from May 4, 2020
A crusading lawyer battles unfair sentences meted out in the “war on drugs” in this passionate memoir. Barnett, an attorney and cofounder of the Buried Alive Project, recounts her successful struggle to win presidential clemency for Sharanda Jones, a Texas restaurateur and mother sentenced in 1999 to life in prison without parole on a first-time, nonviolent drug-trafficking charge, as well as other federal prisoners. Barnett’s clients participated in trafficking to some extent, but prosecutors, she contends, abused their power by exaggerating her clients’ offenses, adding unjustified charges to pressure defendants to make plea deals and falsely accuse others, and using vague “conspiracy” charges to tie peripheral figures like Jones to serious crimes by major dealers. These were compounded by mandatory federal sentencing rules that levied much harsher penalties for dealing crack cocaine than for powder cocaine, which, Barnett argues, reflected racial bias against black defendants. Entwined with the legal battles is the author’s life story, including being physically abused by a drug-dealing boyfriend and her mother’s addiction and prison stint for crack possession. An engrossing legal drama complete with wrenching reversals and redemptions, this account richly humanizes defendants while incisively analyzing deep flaws in America’s justice system.

Starred review from May 1, 2020

Lawyer and activist Barnett weaves together memoir, biography, and legal drama in a powerful and moving story. Barnett describes her childhood in Texas in a close-knit community where crack was both an escape and a promise of easy money when jobs were otherwise hard to come by. When Barnett was a teenager, her mother experienced drug addiction and spent time in jail. Determined to seek a different life for herself, Barnett became a corporate lawyer, but increasingly devoted her free time to advocating for those serving life sentences for nonviolent drug crimes; casualties of the sentencing guidelines during the "war on drugs" in the 1980s and 1990s that disproportionately targeted African Americans and led to a significant increase in mass incarceration. Working against time and incredible odds, Barnett successfully secured clemency and freedom for several people, some of whom would join her in founding the Buried Alive project to seek criminal justice reform. These emotional stories are among the highlights of this book. VERDICT Recommended for readers who enjoyed Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy, this is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the devastating effects of mandatory drug sentencing and looking for inspiration to seek change.--Nicholas Graham, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

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Starred review from May 1, 2020
When Sharanda Jones went to court for a sentencing hearing following her first-time drug offense, she thought she would be able to pick up her daughter from school afterwards. Instead, she received a life sentence. Years later, author Barnett, then a law student, learned of Jones' case while researching a paper for her Critical Race Theory class and soon started on her own path to becoming an advocate for criminal justice reform. This memoir is Barnett's moving story of growing up in East Texas and her progression from accountant to corporate lawyer to voice for those permanently incarcerated. Barnett's mother struggled with addiction and spent two years in prison, which gave Barnett an immediate connection to Jones. Barnett worked tirelessly to request clemency for Jones as well as other clients who had received life sentences. Barnett tells each client's story fully, allowing readers to grasp the weight of years of incarceration and the impact of the War on Drugs on the Black community. Her writing captures both the precision of law and the emotion of seeking freedom. A riveting memoir of injustice, resilience, and hope, A Knock at Midnight is a personal look at a modern humanitarian crisis.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)