{"id":6507,"date":"2016-12-29T22:44:35","date_gmt":"2016-12-30T04:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.candoclemency.com\/?p=6507"},"modified":"2022-10-09T15:24:51","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T20:24:51","slug":"shanita-mcknight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/shanita-mcknight\/","title":{"rendered":"Shanita McKnight – 1st Offender – 20 years – released by BOP to home confinement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"shanita-basketball\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Shanita is on home confinement now, we are still vigorously advocating for her clemency!
\nPlease sign and share Shanita’s clemency petition on Change<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Name<\/strong>: Shanita McKnight #15537-171
\nDOB:<\/strong> 4\/22\/73
\nRace<\/strong>: African American
\nMartial status:<\/strong>\u00a0Married
\nAge:<\/strong> 48
\nChildren:<\/strong> 2
\nState raised:<\/strong> South Carolina
\nState charged:<\/strong> South Carolina
\nWill release:<\/strong> Charlotte, NC
\nCharges:<\/strong>\u00a0Count 1: Conspiracy to posses narcotics with the intent to distribute Count 2 Extortion by a public employee
\nSentence:<\/strong> 20 years
\nServed to date:<\/strong>\u00a012 years
\nStarted sentence on:<\/strong> 5-27-09
\nPriors:<\/strong>\u00a0First Offender<\/span><\/strong>
\nPrison conduct:<\/strong>\u00a0exemplary
\nSupporters:<\/strong>\u00a0Family members, CAN-DO Foundation, the LOHM, Fed Fam 4 Life<\/span><\/p>\n

Institution:<\/strong>\u00a0FCI Coleman\"tracy-ward\"<\/p>\n

Shanita McKnight’s case was<\/strong>\u00a0covered by ABC News.<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Midnight Report article – My CARES Act Home Confinement Story<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Accomplishments:
\n<\/strong>Over 100 certificates:<\/span><\/p>\n

Electronic Law Library training
\nAce into computers
\nAce Excel
\nAlgebra 1
\nJob Resource Fair
\nAdjusting to prison
\nPersonal Finance
\nEmployment component
\nResolve Program-Currently
\nWomen in 21st Century
\nHealth\/Nutrition Class
\nBasic Into Wellness
\nRPP (RN) Aids awareness
\nPhotography Class
\nSelf-paced Spanish level 1
\nSpanish Threshold participant
\nMaterial Coordinator
\nCamp Re-entry planning<\/p>\n

\"\"
Shanita and Tracy Ward<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Career Counseling Class
\nFitness\/Sedentary Lifestyle
\nSleep Disturbances
\nThinking for a Change
\nCoping Skills
\nDeveloping Insight
\nBasic Parenting Skills
\nDealing with Domestic Violence
\nRelationship Issues
\nManaging Emotions
\nManaging Angry Feelings
\nLife in Balance
\nSelf-Discovery
\nAdjusting to Prison
\nTrauma in Life workshop
\nManaging Stress
\nGang Involvement
\nInto French
\nACE Creative Writing
\nResume & Cover Letters
\nFamily day volunteer
\nHome Construction & Inspection
\nBeginner Aerobics
\nLatin Rhythm Aerobics
\nHigh Intensity Cardio Exercise
\nBeginner Toning & Floor Exercises
\nOverall Wellness Course
\nSuper Set Fat Burning Class
\nBeginner & Wheelchair Yoga
\nAdvanced Aerobics<\/p>\n

Shanita’s case:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

On October 21, 2009, Shanita McKnight was convicted on Count 1: Conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute and Count 2 Extortion by public employee. Shanita was sentenced to serve 20 years in a federal facility. Shanita wasn’t convicted because she sold drugs. She was convicted because “the government’s theory was that Shanita, a sworn Lake City Police Officer, joined the instant drug conspiracy because she received payoffs from a variety of drug dealers who she provided information to, so they could avoid detection by local, state and federal authorities.”\u00a0 Despite the government’s theory, they still offered her probation in lieu of going to trial. Shanita believing that she was not a part of the conspiracy because she did not sell drugs exercised her right to a “fair” trial.<\/p>\n

Shanita waived her Miranda rights and to her knowledge fully cooperated by giving the investigators her statements.\u00a0 During the trial to get lighter sentences or no sentencing at all, known ‘drug dealers’ testified against her saying that Shanita conspired with them. In this particular conspiracy, Shanita received the most amount of time to be served in a federal facility. The majority of defendants who admitted to selling, possessing or distributing narcotics received little or no time at all.<\/p>\n

Shanita was a Law Enforcement Officer who honestly did not fully understand the extent of the charges she faced if convicted. Shanita\u2019s lawyer did not fully explain to her that if she plead to public corruption her Count 1 charges would be dropped.\u00a0Shanita thought if she pled to one charge she was admitting she sold drugs. Believing in her innocence, Shanita took her chances with a trial and received a 20-year sentence.<\/p>\n

According to Shanita, \u201cI thought that if I told the truth everything would be ok. It turned out that I was held responsible for conspiracy charges for a network of people that were selling and distributing crack-cocaine.\u00a0 Looking back, I should have pled guilty to corruption while in office because as a police officer, I took money from a known drug dealer and that was wrong. “I am not the same person that I was eleven years ago<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Shanita:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a 46-year-old mother of two.\u00a0 I have currently served 10 years of a 20-year sentence for a non-violent drug offense and extortion by a public employee.\u00a0 My purpose for writing this to build public awareness of my case and to ask the Trump Administration for a second chance.\u00a0 Regardless of my clear conduct in prison, no matter the amount of rewards or certificates I have received or good deeds I have performed, I can\u2019t make up for the pain, shame & humiliation I brought to my family, my community and myself. I am truly sorry for violating and failing the very people, I swore to protect \u2014 both at a personal level (my children) and at a professional level (my community).\u00a0 Yet I still ask you for the opportunity to pay my debt back to society in a real and meaningful way.\u00a0 I ask with a desire to show that a person, especially teens and young adults, can learn from their mistake \u2014 even tragic mistakes \u2014 and grow into moral, responsible and positive contributors to society.<\/p>\n

I made a mistake, and I am sorry.\u00a0 I have accepted full responsibility for the poor decisions I made.\u00a0 There is no one to blame but myself.\u00a0 This self-inflicted calamity has changed my life forever and it has given me the opportunity to heal, to develop and to become a better person.\u00a0 Therefore, my incarceration has benefited me in a positive way. I am not asking you to be easy on crime.\u00a0 I will pay for my crime for the rest of my life, because this is inside of me.\u00a0 I long for the opportunity to make amends and to show people everywhere that prison can be a place of redemption and rehabilitation instead of only punishment.<\/p>\n

Finally, my children are still in their most impressionable years and they desperately need their mother.\u00a0 The impact of my incarceration has been catastrophic to my entire family, but particularly my 15-year-old daughter.\u00a0 She has endured many painful consequences of my incarceration, including homelessness and emotional trauma. I want the opportunity to be a mother to my children while they are still young. I would like to shape their lives and teach them how to be a productive citizen. I can only do so much from behind the prison walls.<\/p>\n

It is my prayer that the Trump Administration will consider granting me clemency and allow me to be a model citizen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although Shanita is on home confinement now, we are still vigorously advocating for her clemency! Please sign and share Shanita’s clemency petition on Change.\u00a0 Name: Shanita McKnight #15537-171 DOB: 4\/22\/73 Race: African American Martial status:\u00a0Married Age: 48 Children: 2 State raised: South Carolina State charged: South Carolina Will release: Charlotte, NC Charges:\u00a0Count 1: Conspiracy to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,12],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-6507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-now-free","category-top-25-women-deserving-clemency","tag-can-do-foundation"],"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Shanita-head.png",302,304,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Amy Ralston Povah","author_link":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/author\/candoamy\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":5,"name":"Now Free","slug":"now-free","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":192,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5,"category_count":192,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Now Free","category_nicename":"now-free","category_parent":0},{"term_id":12,"name":"Women Seeking Clemency","slug":"top-25-women-deserving-clemency","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":12,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":12,"category_count":16,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Women Seeking Clemency","category_nicename":"top-25-women-deserving-clemency","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":27,"name":"CAN-DO Foundation","slug":"can-do-foundation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":27,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":461,"filter":"raw"}],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":5,"label":"Now Free"},{"value":12,"label":"Women Seeking Clemency"}],"post_tag":[{"value":27,"label":"CAN-DO Foundation"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14777,"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6507\/revisions\/14777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheryanne.com\/cando-new2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}