Status Updates From A Knock at Midnight: A Stor...

"There was no justice in that courtroom that day," he said. "As long as these laws are on the books, there never will be.”

room except for the defense attorney. 'Give me something, I told her. 'Give me something so I don't have to sit here and do this. She had nothing. None of us had anything. I was a federal judge with a lifetime appointment and I was completely powerless." Sunny Koshy's sole discretion to levy the 851 enhancement had essen-tally bound Judge Sharp's hands. His next words were emphatic, spoken with utter conviction:

One of the things that shocks me in this book is how many judges said they agreed that sentences were not fair or too long. Due to the mandates, they had to give people long sentences because of the war on drugs. I actually give some of the judges major credit who chose to right letters for clemency for people who they knew didn’t deserve life in prison.