Book Review: The African American Criminal Justice Guide: Staying Alive And Out Of Jail -The #1 Criminaljustice Guidein America
by John V. Elmore
Publication Date: Apr 04, 2012
List Price: $14.95
Format: Paperback, 176 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
ISBN13: 9781937269326
Imprint: Amber Books
Publisher: Amber Communications Group
Parent Company: Amber Communications Group, Inc.
Read a Description of The African American Criminal Justice Guide: Staying Alive And Out Of Jail -The #1 Criminaljustice Guidein America
Book Reviewed by Kam Williams
“As a defense attorney, I spend a lot of time counseling young African-American men and women about making better lives for themselves… It hurts me to see so many of our young… going to jail instead of college.
Many go to jail having been wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. Others will go to jail because of a lack of economic opportunities; and others go to jail simply because they did not have someone to show them a better way.
I hope this book will serve as a tool to wake up and fight for your life and the lives of the next generation of African-American young people, so that they will avoid the criminal justice system. I hope it will educate you and your loved ones about the system, and help you make intelligent decisions about the way we conduct our lives.”
—Excerpted from the Introduction (pgs 1-3)
There are over 7 million people either in prison, on probation or on
parole in the United States. Of that number, about 40% are African-American,
which means that about 3 million black folks are currently caught up in the
criminal justice system.
That unfortunate statistic suggests that the average African-Americans is
likely to have a potentially-serious brush with the law at some point, even
if it’s just a profile stop that never leads to any charges. So why not be
prepared to handle any such encounter with the police, in order to prevent
the situation from escalating to arrest or incarceration?
That is the thinking of John V. Elmore, a defense attorney who has dedicated
his career to representing “victims of our American society” who have been
wrongfully charged “because of the color of their skin.” Entirely overlooked
during the recent debate about the Trayvon Martin tragedy is how the slain
teen had been judged by the color of his skin, rather than by the content of
his character, as so eloquently envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King in his
historic “I Have a Dream” speech.
Sadly, almost a half-century after The March on Washington, we not only
still have cops denying black citizens’ Constitutional rights during
color-coded stop-and-frisks, but we also have armed vigilantes emboldened by
“Stand Your Ground” statutes relying on racial stereotypes alone as a
rationale for confrontations with the innocent.
Mr. Elmore covers considerable ground in The African-American Criminal
Justice Guide, including pivotal chapters about the perils of being black in
America, knowing your rights, hiring an attorney, and negotiating your way
around the criminal justice system, to name a few. Among the important dos
and don’ts of dealing with police on the street are: don’t run, don’t resist
and be polite, even if you’re innocent. And you should always keep your
hands visible, never touch a cop, and ask for a lawyer immediately, if
arrested.
A vital survival handbook chock full of practical legal advice likely to
come in handy and maybe even save your life someday.