Dear Friends,
I wanted to share some great news… SMOKE BUT NO FIRE is a Foreward INDIES Book of the Year Award Winner (Silver, Political and Social Sciences). I’m thrilled that the subject of no-crime wrongful convictions is getting a much-needed spotlight!
If you want to help spread the word about SMOKE BUT NO FIRE, here are three fast, fun, and free things you can do right now:
- Post a review of the book on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, etc. Reviews are more helpful than you can even imagine. Really.
- Ask your local library to purchase a copy of the book. It’s easy to do and helps the book freely circulate in the community.
- Tell your friends, families, and colleagues about the book, and encourage them to take a look.
And thank you!
This has also been a month of anniversaries — of moments from the past when we pause and reflect:
- It’s been fifty years since the failed “war on drugs” started. I had a chance to talk about that history this week on NJ PBS Spotlight.
- June 14th marked the anniversary of 14-year-old George Stinney’s wrongful execution by electric chair in South Carolina. This young black teen was convicted of murdering two young white girls in a trial that lasted 10 minutes. Seventy years later, George Stinney was posthumously cleared of any wrongdoing.
- Juneteenth — the anniversary on which enslaved black men and women were finally and fully emancipated — is now a federal holiday. That is cause for celebration, and for remembering.
Recently, I had the chance to talk about no-crime wrongful convictions with the Dunworkin Club, a social club for the most engaged group of retirees around. Gene Sheehan, one of its most active members, introduced me years ago to the Petey Greene Program, which tutors people who are incarcerated; he inspired me to bring the program to Montclair State University. Thank you, Gene, for the introduction to PGP and to the amazing folks at Dunworkin!
SMOKE BUT NO FIRE was also the subject of an “Author Meets Readers” panel at this year’s virtual Law and Society Conference. Leading legal scholars Valena Beety, Brandon Garrett and Keith Findley dug deep into the book, and its implications for wrongful convictions. If you are not familiar with their respective ground-breaking work on innocence, you should be (links above to their bios).
As we approach a semblance of normalcy this summer, let’s not forget efforts around the nation to promote justice and reform. Change is in the air.
Thank you for all that you do.
Take good care,
Jessica