Marked for Life: One Man's Fight for Justice from the Inside

by Isaac Wright Jr., Jon Sternfeld (Contribution by)

Overview

A powerful memoir of resilience and hope, Marked for Life is the true story of Isaac Wright Jr.'s fight against a corrupt justice system that wrongfully imprisoned him for life, and his inspiring journey to reclaim his freedom and become a champion for the oppressed.

In 1989, Isaac Wright Jr. was a successful hip hop producer and entrepreneur, having worked with Run-DMC and co-founding his wife's music group, The Cover Girls. But his life took a shocking turn when he was falsely accused of being a drug kingpin and sentenced to life plus 70 years in prison.

Realizing that no one else would fight for his innocence, Wright took matters into his own hands. He educated himself in the law, becoming a skilled legal mind and representing himself and fellow inmates. Despite facing corruption and threats from all sides, Wright persevered, uncovering the evidence that would ultimately exonerate him.

Marked for Life is not only a gripping account of Wright's battle against injustice, but also a powerful indictment of the racism and inequality plaguing America's justice system. Wright's journey from wrongfully convicted prisoner to passionate advocate for the marginalized is an inspiration to anyone seeking empowerment, social justice, and prison reform.

This unforgettable memoir, which inspired the hit ABC series For Life, is a must-read for anyone interested in civil rights, Black history, and the fight against discrimination. Wright's story is a testament to the human spirit and a rallying cry for change in a deeply flawed system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250277497
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/08/2022
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Isaac Wright Jr. now practices law in the same courtroom where he was sentenced to life behind bars. Isaac’s remarkable story was the basis for the ABC drama series “For Life." As a lawyer at the Law Firm of Hunt, Hamlin&Ridley, his focus is on defending the wrongly accused and going after corrupt institutions.

Jon Sternfeld is the co-author of more than ten published books of nonfiction, including A Stone of Hope: A Memoir with Jim St. Germain (Harper, 2017) recommended by President Barack Obama, and Scenes From My Life with Michael K. Williams (Crown, 2022).

Jon Sternfeld is a former editor and the co-author of Crisis Point, with Sen. Tom Daschle and Sen. Trent Lott; A Stone of Hope, with Jim St. Germain; and A Forever Family with Rob Scheer, among other non-fiction books. He lives in New York.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Marked for Life:

"Shot through with hard-earned wisdom and resilience, this is a powerful portrait of overcoming immeasurable odds." -Publishers Weekly

"Isaac’s story is so amazing and inspiring that if it was fiction it would seem far-fetched. There is nothing like it - and nobody quite like him on the planet. Read it, share it, and be inspired." –Shaun King, CEO Grassroots Law Project

"This book is a must read—a blue print for how to turn negative into a positive. Its motivational and educational qualities in overcoming life’s challenges to become an even better person should be a must read in our schools and colleges." –Joseph Antonio “Fat Joe” Cartagena, hip-hop artist

"Quite simply Isaac Wright Jr.’s story is the story of one of the bravest most determined individuals I have ever met. This book captures that 'shock and awe' and the world needs to read it and learn from it." –Mike Colter, actor, Luke Cage

"Isaac Wright Jr., is a man of honor and integrity but this book reveals a man whose character, drive and intellect is far beyond that of even the above average man. The book is mine blowing and inspiring. A must read." –Sean Ringgold, actor, Notorious and One Life to Live

"I’ve never read a story about a man thrown in a hell called prison for the rest of his life but set the fight for his own freedom aside to win the freedom of his fellow inmates. This book is a bible in selflessness and the hand god plays in the lives of people who have gained his favor. You haven’t lived until you’ve read this book." –Reminisce “Remy Ma” Mackie, hip-hop artist

Praise for Isaac and his ABC show "For Life":

“Isaac, his story is one of one. He’s not even a unicorn. He’s not one in a million. Everyone else would have copped out…But he’s tougher than the toughest guys I’ve hung out with. There’s a lot of tough guys out there, and what they’re afraid of is the government.” –Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson

“[Isaac’s] fortitude, determination, savvy and smarts to survive all those years in prison, his will and grit, is a great story. It’s a personal tale where we can also show the flaws in the justice system and try to bring about change.” –Hank Steinberg, Creator and Executive Producer of “For Life,” as quoted in the Los Angeles Times

"…the debut of “For Life” serves as a small marker in an evolving national conversation.” –Mike Hale for The New York Times

“[An] extraordinary redemption tale too unimaginable for any respectable Hollywood executive to take seriously if it were a work of fiction.” –Vibe

From the Publisher

2022-10-19
Gritty account of a music producer’s wrongful conviction for drug trafficking and his eventual legal triumph.

Wright’s overlong yet engrossing memoir (co-written with Sternfeld) encompasses a sharp exposé of mass incarceration and the quest for legal self-discovery, and the author shows how his success as a hip-hop promoter attracted the attention of a corrupt New Jersey prosecutor and his police minions. “I was at a nexus of all these people, the nucleus of the well-off, the famous, and the local hustlers,” he writes. “It put me on the radar of a joint drug unit that Middlesex County formed with neighboring Somerset County.” After acquaintances were pressured to implicate him, Wright was arrested in 1989 and convicted two years later under an ill-conceived “kingpin law,” which the author describes as “a conspiracy law with a laughably low burden of proof….As written, the statute gave a life sentence to someone for having a conversation that no one had to prove ever happened.” Yet the discovery of the prison law library gave him an unexpected new direction for dealing with his plight: “Educating myself in the law was my form of resistance.” This began with the seemingly reckless decision to represent himself. “Acting as your own lawyer, especially in a case this serious and complex, was close to unheard of,” he writes. At the notorious Trenton State Prison, Wright joined the Inmate Legal Association, worked on his own appeals, and won respect by providing aid to other inmates and forcing change in the abysmal treatment of mentally ill prisoners. In a dramatic climax, Wright chronicles how he elicited a courtroom admission of police malfeasance, which collapsed the case against him. Though the prose is sometimes repetitive, the author discusses the intricacies of his legal journey in clear, forceful terms, and the case’s complexities and Wright’s fight for justice (the prosecutor was eventually himself convicted) maintain suspense.

A startling, disturbing narrative that shows the continuing social costs of wrongful conviction and the drug war.

Kirkus Reviews