Crime

Black attorney responsible for freeing 17 inmates sets the record straight over Kim Kardashian

DEFENDER NEWS NETWORK — Kim Kardashian has been making headlines as of late after reports said she is responsible for freeing 17 inmates in 90 days. but what hasn’t been highlighted are the Black women doing the work behind the effort. That changed Tuesday when attorney Brittany K. Barnett, who along with fellow Black woman lawyer MiAngel Cody, established the 90 Days of Freedom Campaign, posted a lengthy post on Facebook that set the record straight.

Published

5 years ago

May 17, 2019

Oakland Post

By Defender News Service

Kim Kardashian has been making headlines as of late after reports said she is responsible for freeing 17 inmates in 90 days, but what hasn’t been highlighted are the Black women doing the work behind the effort.

That changed Tuesday when attorney Brittany K. Barnett, who along with fellow Black woman lawyer MiAngel Cody, established the 90 Days of Freedom Campaign, posted a lengthy post on Facebook that set the record straight.

Kardashian is involved in the project, having financially backed it, but Cody and Barnett have been putting in the groundwork to free 17 men who had been serving life in prison on federal drug cases.

“The first and last time I will speak on it. Seriously, because the negativity from today is misdemeanor s— and we still have lives to save,” Barnett’s post began. “MiAngel Cody and I have BEEN doing this work for FREE. Ask any of our dozens of clients who are now free living their best lives. Both of us left six figure salary jobs and wiped out our own savings accounts to fund our work. We attempted to get grants from these large foundations shelling out MILLIONS of dollars to other organizations but would not look our way because they so-called don’t fund “direct services”. Our hands were full picking locks to human cages, we didn’t have time to participate in glorified begging from the nonprofit industrial complex only to be turned down.”

“Kim linked arms with us to support us when foundations turned us down,” Barnett continued. “We and our clients and their families have a lot of love for her and are deeply grateful for her. 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. Only two of us. Prosecutors opposed nearly every single case we had. We litigated our asses off in federal courts across the country. We won DOWNWARD DEPARTURES in most of our cases – due to good lawyering. People set to DIE in prison – are now FREE.”

Barnett went on to explain the clients she and Cody worked to free were not even included on a selective list issued by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which is an agency established to address widespread disparity in federal sentencing. She also blasted the “drama” involved in the criminal justice reform arena.

Still, the lawyer is appreciative of Kardashian’s involvement in their efforts and blasted those who took aim at the reality star, who made headlines for helping get clemency granted for federally imprisoned great-grandmother Alice Johnson last year.

“We need Kim’s support and the support of anyone else who wants to join this fight,” she concluded. “We love that she is using her platform to raise awareness. We ain’t trying to be famous, we trying to get our people free. Period.”

In response, several commenters praised Barrett for her and Cody’s efforts.

“Brittany K. Barnett, actual facts and supreme truth. Your heart and works are monumental!”

“Amen, Now that’s Gangsta.”

“Keep doing what you good at .God put this fight on your heart Job well done.”

This article originally appeared in the Defender News Network.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

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California Black Media

Anti-Theft Bill with Jail-Time Requirement Gets Wide Ranging Support

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24. Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks as Asm. James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), left, stands beside him at a news conference in Sacramento concerning retail theft across the state.

By California Black Media

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24.

Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Co-authored by Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) and Devon Mathis (R-Tulare), AB 1772 would require jail time “of one to three years for theft crimes depending upon the circumstances.

“Offenses would include grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting or mail theft,” the bill language reads.

Ramos said the need to act is urgent.

“It’s time for us to reverse the spikes in theft crimes since the pandemic. Our law enforcement members and district attorneys need additional tools such as AB 1772. We must reverse the trend before the problem grows worse. Last year I requested a state audit of the impact of Prop 47 on Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said Ramos.

Prop 47 is the California initiative, approved by voters in 2014, that reclassified some felonies to misdemeanors and raised the minimum amount for most misdemeanor thefts from $400 to $950.

According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, the rate of occurrence of petty crimes like shoplifting and commercial burglaries have increased by double digits over the last four years.

In Orange County alone, commercial burglaries have spiked by 54%.

“Our communities are experiencing an increase in retail crime and deserve appropriate action from their legislators,” Valencia said.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus thanked Ramos.

“This bill, designed to impose stricter penalties on serial retail theft suspects, responds urgently to the escalating consequences of shoplifting and related crimes on our communities,” he said.

AB 1772 supporters who spoke at the gathering included Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Bernardino Chief of Police Darren Goodman. Listed as supporters are the California State Sheriff’s Association, City of Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez and Redlands Chamber of Commerce.