Chokehold (Policing Black Men): A Renegade Prosecutor's Radical Thoughts on How to Disrupt the System

The police and the law systematically treat Black men like violent criminals, denying them due process, safety in their communities, and the freedom to live their lives without the consequences of others' constant suspicion and fear. This is what Paul Butler calls "The Chokehold," both literal and figurative. The unequitable treatment of Black men by police and the legal system, argues Butler, isn't a flaw—it's the system working exactly the way it's designed to. Butler lays out how white men are far more likely to commit crimes and far less likely to face consequences, offers controversial advice for Black men on dealing with a rigged system (for instance, never speak to cops without a lawyer, and you're legally better off pleading guilty, even if you aren't), and advocates for dismantling the prison system and drastically redefining what community safety means. Similar in its scope and power to The New Jim Crow. Read this book to keep yourself and your loved ones safer, and as fuel for your work abolishing the police and prison systems.