Let's Get Free (Reading - Pt. 1) - Professor Paul Butler at A Capella Books

On June 4, 2009, Professor Paul Butler of George Washington University, a former federal prosecutor, reads from his book, "Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice," at a standing-room only audience at Atlanta's A Capella Books.

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.

At the courthouse Butler stood alongside the people he'd spent his days sending to prison. This stint on the other side of the law confirmed his sense that the system was not working — not making the streets safer, nor helping the people he'd hoped, as a prosecutor, to protect.

Lets Get Free gives an insiders view of the lock-em-up culture that makes every American worse off. We've reached the tipping point—so many people are in prison, especially for nonviolent drug offenses, that incarceration now causes more crime than it prevents. Butler offers innovative methods for citizens to resist complicity and stand up for their rights. He introduces the concept of strategic jury nullification--voting "not guilty" on principle--as a powerful way to protest unfair laws. Butler's groundbreaking "hip hop theory of justice" reveals a profound analysis of crime and punishment found in popular culture.

This is the first segment of the reading.
To see the second segment, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu2giwfVP4I

An extended Q&A with Professor Paul Butler followed the reading. To see the Q&A, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVniHAPOY6s

For more on Professor Paul Butler's book, Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice, visit:
http://www.letsgetfreethebook.com

For more information about A Capella Books in Atlanta, Georgia visit:
http://www.acappellabooks.com/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• professor paul butler
• let's get free
• hip-hop
• criminal law
• criminal justice reform

[libertarianjury]

Paul Butler is great. An American hero...

He really shows how nastily hypocritical the police state is.