Isaac Wright Jr.

ISAAC WRIGHT JR.

Executive Producer on ABC’s “For Life”

Isaac Wright Jr. is an American lawyer, entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for being wrongfully accused, convicted and sentenced to life in prison as a drug kingpin.

Born third of six children, Wright was raised in a military family. Growing up in many different parts of the world gave him a multicultural perspective on life and set the stage for a successful career in business and entertainment as a young adult. Anchored by a wife (a successful entertainer in her own right), a daughter and a blossoming career, he was on top of the Word. In an instant, however, it was all lost when Wright was falsely accused and convicted of being a drug kingpin and mastermind of one of the largest drug distribution networks in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan areas. In 1991, Wright was sentenced to life in prison on the kingpin conviction, plus a total of 72 years in prison on other drug convictions.

Representing himself at trial and on appeal, Wright embarked on the single most onerous and prolific challenge of his life—escaping a destiny of spending the rest of his life in prison. After seven years in prison and helping countless others obtain release from prison and reduced sentences, he prevailed. In 1996, during an evidentiary hearing, Wright’s cross-examination forced veteran detective James Dugan to break the code of silence and confess to the corruption that resulted in his false arrest and wrongful conviction. Dugan pled guilty to misconduct in order to escape going to prison. In December 1996, Isaac was released from prison and all charges against him dropped, with the case against him ultimately dismissed.

Now a free man, Wright returned to the world with nothing. He pursued a law degree, getting his bachelor’s degree in 2002 and entering Saint Thomas University School of Law in 2004. Wright graduated with a doctorate degree in law in 2007 and passed the New Jersey bar exam the following year. His expectations for a successful career in law was delayed when the New Jersey Bar’s Committee on Character held up his bar admission for nine years while they investigated him.

Finally on Sept. 26, 2017, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered Wright’s admission to the bar. Three days later, he was sworn in as an attorney, making history again by being the first and only person to be sentenced to life in prison as a drug kingpin, gain his own release and be admitted to practice law in the same court that sent him to prison.

Wright continues to make entrepreneurial strides in the world of business and is also now one of the most sought-after attorneys in the country. He is known to have said, “I went to law school for one reason and one reason only … To slay Giants for a price. And if the Giant is big enough and the cause is important enough, I’ll do it for free, especially when it involves helping those who cannot help themselves.”