Isaac Wright Jr.

Isaac Wright Jr. (born January 23, 1962) is an American lawyer in the state of New Jersey. He is a candidate for mayor of New York City in the 2021 New York City mayoral election.

Isaac Wright Jr.
Born (1962-01-23) January 23, 1962
Moncks Corner, South Carolina, U.S.
EducationThomas Edison State University (BS)
St. Thomas University (JD)
OccupationAttorney
Known forOverturning his life-in-prison conviction
Spouse(s)Sunshine
Children1

Wright was convicted in 1991 after a five-week trial by a 12-person jury of 10 charges involving the sale of cocaine and sentenced to life in prison, but his conviction was overturned in 1997 after litigation brought by him and his lawyer, on the basis that police concealed evidence of an illegal search and seizure of drugs presented at his trial and that the prosecutor knew of a favorable plea agreement with one of his co-defendants who was a witness at his trial. The ABC legal drama television series For Life is inspired by his life.

Early life

Wright was born on January 23, 1962, in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, to Isaac Wright Sr. and Sandra B. Wright.[1] He attended Berkeley High School[2]

Career

In the late-1980s he worked as a music producer for The Cover Girls, a pop and urban contemporary musical group that featured his then-wife Sunshine Wright as a vocalist.[3]

Arrest and incarceration

Wright was arrested on July 25, 1989, in Passaic, New Jersey, for buying two pounds of cocaine from a co-defendant.[4] In April 1991 he was convicted of various drug charges (though his conviction was years later overturned on the basis that police concealed evidence of an illegal search and seizure of drugs presented at his trial and that the prosecutor knew of a favorable plea agreement with one of his co-defendants who was a witness at his trial).[5] He was convicted by a 12-person jury in Somerset County, New Jersey, after a five-week trial on 10 drug charges involving the sale of cocaine, and in 1991 he was sentenced to mandatory life in prison under New Jersey's drug kingpin laws.[5][4][6] His wife served nine months after pleading guilty to drug charges in the case.[4] Wright appealed his convictions and sentence, and in 1995 the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed all of his convictions except the one based on the charge that he led a cocaine trafficking network that distributed cocaine in Franklin, New Jersey, and New Brunswick, New Jersey, holding that the instructions to the jury were not adequate on that charge.[6][4][5] The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed that decision.[5]

While incarcerated, he worked as a paralegal with the prison paralegal organization the Inmate Legal Assn. in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey, and represented other prisoners on infractions that they were charged with committing within the prison yard and prepared supplemental legal briefs on appeals of their criminal cases.[7] According to Wright, he helped to overturn the wrongful convictions of twenty of his fellow inmates.[8] In 1996, Wright and his lawyer, Francis Hartman, successfully petitioned for a hearing to overturn his own convictions, and he was freed on bail.[9][10][8] In December 1997, after litigation brought by him and his lawyer,[11] the trial court reversed his remaining convictions, on the basis that Somerset County law-enforcement officials concealed evidence of an illegal search and seizure of cocaine used at his trial, and that the Somerset County Prosecutor was aware of but concealed the terms of a favorable plea agreement with one of his co-defendants who was a witness at his trial.[5] The court therefore dismissed the indictment against Wright.[5][3][12][13] The ABC legal drama For Life is inspired by his life.[3][14]

After being released from prison, he graduated from Thomas Edison State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in human services in 2002.[15] He eventually earned a Juris Doctor from the St. Thomas University School of Law in 2007 in Miami, Florida. He passed the New Jersey bar in 2008. After a nine-year investigation into his character, the New Jersey State Bar Association's Committee on Character approved his application, and he became a licensed attorney in New Jersey in 2017.[16][17] He is now a lawyer with the New Jersey law firm of Hunt, Hamlin & Ridley.[18]

Political career

In December 2020, Wright announced that he would run for mayor of New York City as a Democrat. He said that criminal justice and police reform would be the centerpieces of his campaign, but that he would also focus on taxes, school desegregation, homelessness, and transit issues. Shortly after Wright announced his candidacy, rapper 50 Cent said of Wright in a tweet that "He is the real deal. We need people like him."[19]

References
  1. Brack, Naomii (August 16, 2020). "Issac Wright Jr. (1962- )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  2. Kalyn Oyer (February 18, 2020). "The story of the South Carolina man who inspired a new ABC show produced by 50 Cent". Post and Courier.
  3. Bruney, Gabrielle (February 11, 2020). "The True Story Behind ABC's New Legal Drama, For Life". Esquire. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  4. "Juror in kingpin trial calls drug-conspiracy law unfair" (PDF). Courier-News. April 26, 1991.
  5. "Isaac Wright v. State of New Jersey et als.". Justia Law.
  6. "STATE v. ISAAC WRIGHT, JR.". Justia Law.
  7. "Isaac Wright Jr. hadn't fully processed his time in prison. Then he saw it on TV". Los Angeles Times. March 31, 2020.
  8. Aurelie Corinthios (February 11, 2020). "The Incredible True Story Behind For Life, 50 Cent's New Show About a Falsely Accused Inmate". PEOPLE.
  9. Bruney, Gabrielle (February 11, 2020). "Isaac Wright Jr.'s Real Life Inspired ABC's 'For Life.' He Told Us His Story". Esquire.
  10. "Man Wrongfully Convicted As Drug Kingpin Inspires New 50 Cent-Produced Drama 'For Life'". Oxygen. February 12, 2020.
  11. Considine, Austin (March 25, 2020). "'For Life': How 50 Cent Helped One Man's Tale of Injustice See Daylight". New York Times.
  12. "'I've Been Given A Gift That Empowers Me': Isaac Wright Jr. On Overturning Wrongful Conviction, New Series 'For Life'". CBS New York. February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  13. Littleton, Cynthia (February 6, 2020). "'For Life' Stars and Producers Hail ABC Drama as 'The Right Show at the Right Time'". Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  14. "'For Life' Cast Call System That Imprisoned Isaac Wright Jr. 'Broken'". People. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  16. "ABC's 'For Life' TV Show vs. the True Story of Isaac Wright Jr". History vs. Hollywood. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  17. "50 Cent and Isaac Wright Jr. hope 'For Life' series will encourage 'bigger' criminal justice discussion". ABC News. February 18, 2020.
  18. "Isaac Wright, Jr."
  19. Saint-Vil, Sweenie (December 2, 2020). "Formerly incarcerated lawyer Isaac Wright Jr. announces run for NYC mayor". Revolt. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
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