Brian D/ King | Daily PressNortheastern State University President Steve Turner welcomes attendees and viewers to the 2021 Larry Adair Lectureship, featuring attorney, advocate, and author Brittany K. Barnett.

TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma – An award-winning attorney is working to reform the criminal system by advocating for changes in laws that disproportionately target people of color.

Northeastern State University in Oklahoma invited advocate, author, attorney, and entrepreneur Brittany K. Barnett to speak Feb. 24 at the 2021 Larry Adair Lectureship. The daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother, she is looking to dismantle harsh sentencing for drug offenses. Her recent book, “A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom,” addresses her experiences and her childhood.

“When I first got the idea to write the book, I wasn’t going to talk about my childhood. I wasn’t sure if it was something people were interested in,” said Barnett.

She was inspired to make herself vulnerable, because addiction is an issue that impacts communities around the country.

Barnett always wanted to be a lawyer, but had a first career in accounting. It wasn’t until she was working in an accounting office in downtown Dallas that she realized she worked in the same building as a prominent Black woman attorney in the area. They met for coffee, and the attorney encouraged her to apply to the Southern Methodist Dedman School of Law, where she was accepted and graduated.

She thought she would work in corporate law for her whole career, but she took a course from D. Aaron Lacy on critical race theory that changed her life.

“Professor Lacy was an amazing soul who taught this class in a way that was thought-provoking and challenging,” said Barnett.

She explained that one user could be caught with 500 grams of powder cocaine, while another could have 5 grams of crack cocaine, and they would receive the same sentence. This one law disproportionately placed people of color in federal prison, and often for life.

“Seventy percent of people in federal prison for drugs are Black and brown people,” said Barnett.

This is largely because more affluent people use powder cocaine. To the author, the law was heartbreaking and reminded her of her own journey as a daughter of a Black mother who served time for possession and use of drugs.

She also learned this law was passed in the 1986 with little debate on the floor, but its ramifications would change the lives of millions around the country – including many of her clients.

“Growing up in rural East Texas, it was a childhood friend of mine who got sentenced at the age of 23, life without parole for drugs. At first, I thought this was just good ol’ boy east Texas justice. I didn’t realize this was going on around the country,” she said.

Barnett was motivated to learn everything she could about these laws. She Googled people who faced life sentences for drugs, and learned about Sharanda Jones, who was serving a life sentence in Texas for drug abuse. She contacted her and offered to serve as her pro bono lawyer.

“She reminded me of myself, except I was in law school, and she had just served 10 years of her life sentence without parole. She was sent for her first-ever conviction for drugs, and she was in her 20s. It was mind-boggling,” Barnett said.

It didn’t make sense to her that someone who committed a first-ever drug offense could be given the same sentence as the Unabomber. Later, she learned the only way that Jones could be released from jail was through clemency, which they achieved under President Barack Obama.

Since then, Barnett has helped others to be released from life sentences.

In the Q&A session, a few people asked what they could do to help. In response, she recommended getting involved in local organizations. She also recommended visiting a prison and doing volunteer service, adding that prisoners are human, and that everyone makes mistakes.

“They aren’t bad people; they made bad decisions. It is so often that human element is often ignored,” she said.