Public defenders are the key to ferreting out, and interrupting, that normalized injustice. They are indispensable to addressing the injustice America is mobilizing against in this moment.
In recent months, all across the country, organized public defender offices have led the charge to free people from dangerous jails during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public defender offices have routinely been at the forefront of efforts to reform oppressive bail practices, to rewrite unfair discovery laws and to illuminate prosecutorial misconduct. Without a dedicated, professional public defender office, communities most impacted by our approach to criminal justice are left without an organizational advocate to partner with in the fight for comprehensive reform.