Public Defenseless

Today, Hunter sat down with a fierce, lifelong advocate for a better system of Youth Justice. Betsy Clarke, the Founder of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, joins the show today to talk about her hope for continuing to improve the youth justice system at the state level. Drawing on decades of work and important lessons from the youth justice systems of other nations, Betsy is an amazing resource for all those trying to find ways to overhaul our exceptionally cruel juvenile justice system. Guests: Betsy Clarke, Founder, Juvenile Justice Initiative Resources: Convention on the Rights of the Child https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child Juvenile Justice Initiative https://www.jjustice.org/new-page-1 Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

Today, Hunter is once again joined by two amazing advocates from Partners for Justice. Rebecca Solow, Founder and Co-Executive Director, and Vichal Kumar, Director of Capacity Building, join us today to discuss the amazing progress of their partnerships with state and local public defender offices around the country. The best part of these Partners for Justice programs is the way they build the capacity of Public Defense by responding to the individual needs of each office and jurisdiction. From California, Missouri, Kansas, and Cook County, Partners For Justice is a leader in finding innovative, cost effective ways to create better, more vibrant public defender offices. Guests: Rebecca Solow, Founder and Co-Executive Director, Partners for Justice Vichal Kumar, Director of Capacity Building, Partners for Justice Resources: Partners for Justice https://www.partnersforjustice.org/ PFJ Twitter https://twitter.com/PFJ_USA Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

Today, Hunter is joined by Sean Wilson, the Organizing Director at Dream Corp Justice, to discuss his journey from incarceration to community organizing to driving major criminal legal reforms. After 17 years of incarceration, Sean understood the ways our mass incarceration system fails to help people rehabilitate and re-enter society with the skills they need to thrive. From his local community in Milwaukee to communities around the country, Sean brings incredible passion and drive to help people avoid ever interacting with the criminal legal system. Guests: Sean Wilson, the Organizing Director at Dream Corp Justice, Dream.org Resources: Sean Wilson Dream.org https://dream.org/team-members/sean-wilson/ Dream.Org https://twitter.com/thedreamcorps https://www.instagram.com/dream.corps/ https://www.facebook.com/thedreamcorps Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

Today, Hunter sat down with Professor Keramet Reiter to discuss her decades+ research into solitary confinement and the American Prison System. In her immense scholarship, it is easier to say what Keramet has not written about than what she has. With her vast array of American and International solitary confinement practices, she is the perfect guest to explain the problems with solitary confinement and the prison system as a whole Guests: Keramet Reiter, Professor & Vice Chair of Criminology, Law & Society and School of Law, University of California Irvine School of Social Ecology Resources: Keramet's Website (where you can find all of her books!) http://www.kerametreiter.com/ Keramet's Faculty Page https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/reiter/ Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

Today, Hunter is joined by two fierce advocates for youth justice in the state of Tennessee. Chris Kleiser, a Knox County Public Defender, and Meribah Knight, a Senior Reporter for Special Projects with Nashville Public Radio, bring us a story of how one rouge judge illegally policed and caged young people in Rutherford County Tennessee. Many of you may have read the shocking reporting last year about Judge Donna Scott Davenport. Over more than two decades, she abused her position of power on the bench, and today's episode is designed to figure out what structural things in the Tennessee criminal legal system allow this to happen. Guests: Christina Kleiser, Assistant Public Defender and Youth Lead, Knox County, Tennessee Meribah Knight, Senior Reporter for Special Projects, Nashville Public Radio Resources: Black Children Were Jailed for a Crime That Doesn't Exist. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge https://www.propublica.org/article/black-children-were-jailed-for-a-crime-that-doesnt-exist Judge Davenport Plans to Retire https://www.propublica.org/article/new-bill-seeks-to-remove-tennessee-judge-who-illegally-jailed-children Check out the In Defense of Children Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/5RrAfBAibvkm117xBx8GmW https://www.instagram.com/indefenseofchildrenpodcast/ Follow Meribah Knight on Twitter https://twitter.com/meribah?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Read Meribah's Work https://www.meribahknight.com/ Serial's Podcast with Meribah https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/podcasts/serial-kids-rutherford-county.html https://open.spotify.com/show/4SwSDvOGcbc4cPA52nS4ww https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-kids-of-rutherford-county/id1707247008 Knox County Public Defender https://www.pdknox.org/ Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

Today's guest brings a decade plus of experience in criminal justice policy reform to the San Francisco Public Defender Office. Hunter spoke with Angela Chan, Chief of Confront and Advocate, the policy branch of the SF Public Defender Office. In most places, District Attorneys operate by themselves in the policy world, and that is part of the reason that our society is awash with their policy preferences. In San Francisco however, Brooke Jenkins must compete with the powerful voice of Angela, Mano, and the rest of the policy centric branches of the San Francisco Public Defender. Guests: Angela Chan, Chief of Confront and Advocate, San Francisco Public Defender's Office Resources: SF Public Defender Office Hires Angela Chan https://sfpublicdefender.org/news/2022/02/san-francisco-public-defender-announces-the-hiring-of-angela-chan-long-time-immigrant-advocate-for-the-asian-law-caucus/ SF Public Defender Office https://sfpublicdefender.org/ Brooke Jenkins Blames Judges for Crisis https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/jenkins-blames-judges-for-fueling-sf-drug-crisis-18279532.php SF Public Defender Twitter https://twitter.com/sfdefender?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Brooke Jenkins Misconduct https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/brooke-jenkins-misconduct-18338499.php Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

Today, Hunter spoke with a longtime investigator in the innocence movement, Adam Deutsch, to discuss the wrongful conviction of Tim Wright. In 2008, was convicted of the murder of Justin Baumgardner, but after more than a decade behind bars, evidence is mounting that Tim is behind bars as a result of an elaborate cover up by the Amherst County Deputy Sheriffs. With the help of bad ballistics, bad cellular triangulation, and a witness with every motive to lie, Tim was convicted. Thankfully, there are people like Adam and Tim's wife Danielle tirelessly fighting for the truth to come to light. Guests: Adam Deutsch, Investigator and Founder of Synergy Intelligence Holdings Resources: Tim Wright 2018 Georgetown Making an Exoneree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXiv05XlrJ0 Tim Wright Uncuff the Innocent https://www.uncufftheinnocent.org/tim-wright-jr Tim Wright's Website https://innocence4tim.com/ Tim Wright Twitter https://twitter.com/innocence4tim?lang=en Contact Adam http://www.synergyintelligence.com/ Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

*There was an issue with the file uploading to the podcast platforms. It has been corrected! Apologies* Today, Hunter spoke with Iowa Public Defender, Darren Page, to peel back the layers of Public Defense in Iowa to try and understand why the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court said the system was in a state of crisis. On many episodes, Hunter likes to explore how states determine if someone should get a Public Defender and if states make those who get a Public Defender reimburse the state for the costs. In Iowa, the state has decided to narrowly define who is too poor to qualify for a Public Defender while also mandating that people reimburse the state for costs. While this is not what's causing the crisis, it is a signal of a system desperate for reforms. Guests: Darren Page, Assistant Public Defender, Des Moines, Iowa Resources: Iowa Public Defender in a state of Crisis https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2023/01/11/iowa-indigent-defense-attorneys-crisis-supreme-court-chief-justice/69792316007/ Iowa State Public defender https://spd.iowa.gov/ Iowa Public Defender Strategic Plan 2019-2023 https://spd.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/SPD%20Strategic%20Plan%20-%202019-2023.pdf Iowa Annual Public Defender Reports https://spd.iowa.gov/about-us/spd-reports Iowa Living Wage https://livingwage.mit.edu/states/19 National Poverty Guidelines https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/federal-poverty-level-FPL/ United Way Iowa https://www.unitedwaydm.org/ Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

Joining Hunter today is Keith Wattley, the Founder and Executive Director of Uncommon Law. Keith and his team at Uncommon Law support people navigating California's discretionary parole process through trauma-informed legal representation, mental health counselling, legislative and policy advocacy, and in-prison programming led by those who have been through the process themselves. For decades, people have been aware of the pervasive bias that infects the parole system of California, but little has changed to address it. That's where Keith and Uncommon Law come in. Guests: Keith Wattley, Founder and Executive Director, Uncommon Law Resources: Uncommon Law Website https://www.uncommonlaw.org/ Follow Uncommon Law on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/uncommonlawyer/ Twitter https://twitter.com/UnCommLaw Facebook https://www.facebook.com/UnCommonLaw/ 1. The Compassion Prison Project has some great information about rates of trauma - in particular, childhood trauma - among people in prison, and the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and incarceration 2. The Sentencing Project has several really excellent reports about our country's enduring reliance on life sentencing, how ineffective these kinds of sentences actually are in promoting public safety, and the relationship between life sentencing and mass incarceration 3. Speaking of the Sentencing Project, Keith recently authored this op ed in The Crime Report with their Senior Director of Advocacy Nicole Porter, which explores similar ideas 4. The Justice Policy Institute recently released this analysis of Maryland's parole process, highlighting several of the same issues we see in California. 5. Similarly, there has been fairly regular coverage of the racial biases evident in New York's parole hearing decisions in recent years 6. Finally, feel free to check out this video series our organization put out last year; it explores cycles of violence from the perspectives of people who have both survived and caused harm, and gives a good sense of our work and messaging Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN

Today, Hunter is joined by criminal defense attorney and former public defender Amelia Power to discuss her role in defending those who protested the killing of Elijah McClain. As is so often the case, those who used their 1st Amendment rights to protest the abuses of police found themselves facing hefty prison time. Guests: Amelia Power, Criminal Defense Attorney, Colorado Resources: Media Coverage of the Case https://www.westword.com/news/elijah-mcclain-protesters-charges-dropped-12335973 https://www.apowerlaw.com/media Contact Amelia https://www.apowerlaw.com/ Elijah McClain https://www.nytimes.com/article/who-was-elijah-mcclain.html FBI Informants in the Colorado Racial Justice Movement https://theintercept.com/2023/02/07/fbi-denver-racial-justice-protests-informant/ Aurora Police Response to Violin Vigil https://abcnews.go.com/US/city-aurora-sued-police-response-violin-vigil-elijah/story?id=71951197 PSL https://pslweb.org/ Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN