CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Clarksville native Chris Young has quite the story to tell — his own.
Young grew up in deep poverty near downtown Clarksville, faced a mandatory life sentence in federal prison, received a presidential commutation, graduated from college and is now sharing his journey in a new book.
"It's been painful but cathartic," Young said of writing The Wound Is Where the Light Enters, A Memoir of Resilience.
Young described his childhood was marked by instability and hardship. "No electricity and running water, having to be adopted, going to school with holes in my shoes this big," he recalled. "The instability, the extreme level of poverty and just trauma consistently is not good for any child or any human being."
As a teenager and young adult, Young said he became determined to make money, but took the wrong path. "I said I'm going to get me some money. Unfortunately, I applied this ambition in an illegal way. And in a way that was destructive to my community," Young said.
Young was eventually convicted in a federal drug conspiracy case. Because it was his third felony conviction, federal prosecutors were able to seek a mandatory life sentence under the federal "three strikes" law. "He had to give me life. It was mandatory. It was set forth by Congress," Young said.
The judge who imposed that sentence, former U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp, later became one of Young's strongest advocates. "That was not justice in any way, shape or form," Sharp said.
Sharp has previously said the sentence never sat well with him and that he believed the punishment was far too severe. Years later, Sharp joined attorney Brittany K. Barnett in efforts to secure Young's release. Their advocacy eventually drew national attention, including support from Kim Kardashian and CNN's Van Jones.
The group met with President Donald Trump at the White House in 2018 in hopes of winning a commutation for Young.
For a time, Young said he wasn't sure anything would come of those efforts. "I actually didn't think I was going to get it," he said.
Then, on the final day of Trump's first term in office, Young received life-changing news. "On January 20, 2021, I was able to walk out of Bloody Beaumont a free man," Young said, referring to the federal prison where he was incarcerated.
Asked to describe the moment, Young struggled to put it into words. "It's inexplicable. I would never be able to find the right words to articulate that elation," he said.
Since his release, Young's life has changed dramatically. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in economics and public policy.
He also became engaged to Barnett, the attorney who helped fight for his freedom. "Because I had always been impressed and just awestruck of her and her heart, her mind and her soul, I courted her and she accepted," Young said.
Chris now lives in Texas, and in addition to his day job, has become a motivational speaker.
Today, Young hopes his book serves as both a personal testimony and a reflection on broader issues within the criminal justice system. "A testimony, a first-hand account of what we've gone through, the children of the war on drugs," Young said. "Had I had stability, I could have easily been a physicist, studying the quantum vacuum and wondering how we could harness zero point energy."
Young said he hopes readers will find lessons in his story of hardship, accountability, redemption and second chances.
The book officially went on sale earlier this month.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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