Synopses & Reviews
Paul Butler was an ambitious federal prosecutor, a Harvard Law grad who gave up his corporate law salary to fight the good fightuntil one day he was arrested on the street and charged with a crime he didnt commit.
The Volokh Conspiracy calls Butlers account of his trial "the most riveting first chapter I have ever read."
In a book Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree calls "a must read," Butler looks at places where ordinary citizens meet the justice systemas jurors, witnesses, and in encounters with the policeand explores what "doing the right thing" means in a corrupt system.
Since Lets Get Frees publication in spring 2009, Butler has become the go-to person for commentary on criminal justice and race relations: he appeared on ABC News, Good Morning America, and Fox News, published op-eds in the New York Times and other national papers, and is in demand to speak across the country. The paperback edition brings Butlers groundbreaking and highly controversial argumentsjury nullification (voting "not guilty" in drug cases as a form of protest), just saying "no" when the police request your permission to search, and refusing to work inside the system as a snitch or a prosecutorto a whole new audience.
Synopsis
Drawing on his personal fascinating story as a prosecutor, a defendant, and an observer of the legal process, Paul Butler offers a sharp and engaging critique of our criminal justice system. He argues against discriminatory drug laws and excessive police power and shows how our policy of mass incarceration erodes communities and perpetuates crime. Controversially, he supports jury nullificationor voting not guilty” out of principleas a way for everyday people to take a stand against unfair laws, and he joins with the Stop Snitching” movement, arguing that the reliance on informants leads to shoddy police work and distrust within communities. Butler offers instead a hip hop theory of justice,” parsing the messages about crime and punishment found in urban music and culture. Butlers argument is powerful, edgy, and incisive.
Synopsis
Radical ideas for changing the justice system, rooted in the real-life experiences of those in overpoliced communities, from the acclaimed former federal prosecutor and author of Chokehold
Paul Butler was an ambitious federal prosecutor, a Harvard Law grad who gave up his corporate law salary to fight the good fight--until one day he was arrested on the street and charged with a crime he didn't commit.
In a book Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree calls "a must-read," Butler looks at places where ordinary citizens meet the justice system--as jurors, witnesses, and in encounters with the police--and explores what "doing the right thing" means in a corrupt system. No matter how powerless those caught up in the web of the law may feel, there is a chance to regain agency, argues Butler. Through groundbreaking and sometimes controversial methods--jury nullification (voting "not guilty" in drug cases as a form of protest), just saying "no" when the police request your permission to search, and refusing to work inside the system as a snitch or a prosecutor--ordinary people can tip the system towards actual justice. Let's Get Free is an evocative, compelling look at the steps we can collectively take to reform our broken system.
About the Author
A former federal prosecutor,
Paul Butler is the countrys leading expert on jury nullification. He provides legal commentary for CNN, NPR, and the Fox News Network, and has been featured on
60 Minutes and profiled in the
Washington Post. He has written for the
Post, the
Boston Globe, and the
Los Angeles Times, and is a law professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.