MiAngel C. Cody

MiAngel Cody picks locks to human cages. As a lawyer, she is nationally recognized for her dedicated defense of men and women sentenced to life in federal prison. MiAngel has defended hundreds of people in federal court and won freedom for 40 prisoners sentenced to life in prison for drugs. Her victories include 6 successful commutations from the President of the United States. MiAngel has been described nationally as a “Powerhouse Litigator.” During her historic #90DaysOfFreedom Campaign, in three short months, MiAngel and her team won freedom for 17 federal prisoners unfairly sentenced to life without parole for drugs. She is a 2014 recipient of the Federal Bar Association’s National Younger Federal Lawyer of the Year Award. In 2019, the American Constitution Society honored Ms. Cody as a “Legal Legend” and Essence Magazine named her a “Top 100 Changemaker in America.” Attorney Cody believes the Sixth Amendment demands the highest caliber of representation for those with the least financial means, especially when their freedom or life is at stake.

As a writer and producer, MiAngel curates stories that expose the trauma and survivorship of those trapped in America’s criminal courts. MiAngel has seen incarcerated fathers and mothers kiss children goodbye. She’s watched judges lament that mandatory sentencing laws left them hamstrung with no discretion. She’s seen people leave prison with no ID card, no home, no medicine, no methadone, no health insurance, no bus card, no education & no job prospects. She has stood with many people as they were sent into cages. And she’s received desperate calls when those same people returned from prison with nothing. Ultimately, she’s witnessed a system dehumanize humans and, in doing so, become dehumanized itself.