Stay ConnectedAnyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system is perpetuating cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people simply trying to get through another day.
Public Defenseless explores the rot in the justice system and what we can do about it. Join host, Hunter Parnell, as he interviews top defense attorneys and criminal justice stakeholders from across the country as they pull apart the convoluted web of our criminal justice system.
Today, Hunter sat down with Civil Rights lawyers Darold Killmer and Maddie Lips to discuss a tragic case. James Purdy, a 76 year old man with dementia and Parkinson's, was arrested after a women alleged he attempted to kidnap her. When he was arrested, Purdy incredibly frail condition was obvious and his family insisted he be kept on his essential medication. Unfortunately, the Jefferson Count Jail staff did not comply with this request. Over his multi-week pretrial incarceration, Purdy was recorded falling around 100 times, and ultimately, these falls left him with injuries that would lead to his death.
Guest
Darold Killmer, Partner, Killmer Lane Civil Rights Litigation, Denver, CO
Maddie Lips, Associate, Killmer Lane Civil Rights Litigation, Denver, CO
Resources:
Contact Killmer Lane
Contact Darold and Maddie
mlips@killmerlane.com
dkillmer@killmerlane.com
Read More About James Purdy's Case
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Today, Hunter spoke with Emmy Award winning documentarian and investigative journalist, Gianna Toboni to discuss her new book The Volunteer: The Failure of the Death Penalty and One Inmate's Quest to Die with Dignity. In this book, Gianna tells the story of Scott Dozier. He was on death row in Nevada for two separate homicide convictions, but despite him volunteering to be executed, forces both inside and outside of the prison prevented the state from executing him. Ultimately, Dozier took his own life after a few weeks on a mental health, solitary confinement hold. How did this all happen and what can we learn about the death penalty in America? All those questions and more in today's episode.
Guest
Gianna Toboni, Documentarian, Investigative Journalist, Author of The Volunteer
Resources:
Pick up a Copy of the Book Here
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-volunteer-gianna-toboni/1145681921
Follow Gianna On Socials
https://bsky.app/profile/giannatoboni.bsky.social
https://www.instagram.com/giannatoboni/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianna-toboni-970174272/
https://x.com/GiannaToboni?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Gianna's Work at Vice (Including Interview's with Dozier)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw613M86o5o6ig6LRdAL5W_w7w1k_UeQ5
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter spoke with Criminal Defense Lawyer Blake Weiner about a wrongful conviction case he has been working on. Blake's client, Marcus Cooper was charged with rape and strangulation in two separate counties in Virginia. At the first trial, evidence came to light that the complaining witness was lying about pictures she provided to the Commonwealth that she claimed proved her accusations. This trial resulted in a mistrial, and ultimately the charges were dismissed. At the second trial, which featured the same witness and the same charges, the complaining witness once again provided fabricated evidence to try and convict Mr. Cooper. However, the judge in this case determined that Blake could not bring up these repeated instances of evidence fabrication, and as a result, Mr. Cooper was convicted. Blake helps us understand how a judge could stop a defense lawyer from challenging the credibility of a person who has demonstrated a willingness to lie about his client.
Guest
Blake Weiner, Criminal Defense Lawyer, Virginia
Resources:
Contact Blake
Read the Docs from the Case Here
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1uZd16LUpCFJwHVrR6eF4sPxs1D91406s?usp=sharing
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter spoke with Kristen Rome the Executive Director of the Louisiana Center for Children's Rights. Last fall, Hunter spoke with another member of LCCR about the policies pursued by Governor Jeff Landry to make it easier for the state to criminalize young people. Sadly, today's episode is on the same topic. Up for a vote on March 29th, Louisiana's Amendment Three is a Constitutional Amendment that would give the legislature nearly unlimited power to get young people prosecuted in the adult legal system. Kristen joins the show to help explain what the amendment is, how it got on the ballot, and why people should vote no!
Guest
Kristen Rome, Executive Director, Louisiana Center for Children's Rights
Resources:
Find LCCR's Work Here
https://www.facebook.com/lakidsrights
https://www.instagram.com/LAKidsRights
Vote No On Three
Laws Targeting Mostly Black Parishes
https://apnews.com/article/juvenile-records-louisiana-e95896fcc0ca3e1a8d92409a345ad706
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter spoke with former Public Defender and current Criminal Defense Lawyer Amy Parker about a shocking wrongful conviction case. Normally, Public Defenders find themselves working in opposition of Child Protective Services workers. So when a former CPS worker reached out to Amy, admit that an innocent man was incarcerated, Amy knew there was a serious injustice happening. Through her work, she was able to exonerate Mr. Ezquiel Apolo-Albino and stop his deportation, but how did he end up wrongfully convicted for molesting his children? Based on Amy's tireless work, it appears we know the answer.
Guest
Amy Parker, Criminal Defense Lawyer and Former Public Defender, Washington
Resources:
Read the Full Motion for a New Trial Here
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kv6yaxs9vInHBj5X4cBbLzWHOZR69Ucr?usp=drive_link
National Register of Exonerees
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=5014
More on Mr. Apolo Albino
https://www.law.uw.edu/news-events/news/2024/justice-for-the-wrongfully-convicted
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter spoke with Nayna Gupta of the American Immigration Council. This conversation covers a recent slate of Trump Administration Immigration Policies that are a naked power grab by the President so he can detain and deport whoever he wants, whenever he wants, and however he wants without due process of law. Specifically, Nayna walks us through how the Alien Enemies Act, the designation of several cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and the new Immigration Registration requirement will work in concert to grant the President nearly limitless power to detain and deport people.
Guest
Nayna Gupta, Policy Director, American Immigration Council
Resources:
American Immigration Council Resources
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/
https://www.instagram.com/immcouncil/
https://www.facebook.com/TheAmericanImmigrationCouncil/#
ILRC Red Cards
https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas
Invocation of the Act
Alien Enemies Act Explained
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/alien-enemies-act-explained
https://www.justsecurity.org/109168/alien-enemies-act-litigation/
Judge Blocking the Act and Trump Ignoring the Order
http://axios.com/2025/03/14/trump-alien-enemies-act-deportations
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/us/constitutional-crisis.htmlQ
Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation
Registration Requirements
https://www.uscis.gov/alienregistration
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter spoke with Anna Ramirez Zarate and Lourdes Best of the San Mateo Chapter of Silicon Valley De-Bug. On today's episode, we will hear about how the community views the criminal legal system, the Private Defender Program in San Mateo, and how they felt about the harmful, racist emails sent by some members of PDP.
Guest
Ana Ramirez Zarate, Community and Participatory Defense Organizer, Silicon Valley De-Bug
Lourdes Best, Community and Participatory Defense Organizer, Silicon Valley De-Bug
Resources:
SVDB Socials
https://www.youtube.com/user/DeBugTV
https://www.siliconvalleydebug.org/
https://www.instagram.com/sv_debug/?hl=en
Complaint with CRC
Reports about PDP
https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/system/files/private_defender_program.pdf
https://www.smcgov.org/media/2466/download?inline=
https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/system/files/balance_scale_of_justice.pdf
Emails About Silicon Valley De-Bug
https://x.com/svdebug/status/1838380292765327581
*** Note on the Episode****
Following my conversation with Lisa and Harpreet flat rate fees in the PDP, Lisa informed me that the Office of the State Public Defender in California released Standards for Contract Panels. They discourage any flat fee compensation. As a result, Lisa will now be working with the county to move away from the flat rate fees towards an all-hourly compensation rate.
New Standards Can be Found Here
https://www.ospd.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CA-Standards_ContractPanelDefense.pdf
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter spoke with Lisa Maguire and Harpreet Samra of the San Mateo County Private Defender Program. Unlike the normal contract Public Defender model, the PDP operates as a managed assigned counsel system. As the Chief Defender, Lisa, manages a group of private contractors who handle the Public Defender needs of the county. This grants here significantly more oversight than in a traditional Private Defender System. Harpreet is the lead for the PDP's Social Worker program, and she ensures attorneys connect with Social Workers in their cases. From each of their areas of expertise, Lisa and Harpreet are working to correct the issues documented with PDP over the years. While their work has the PDP moving in a positive direction, the presence of flat rate fee compensation and the fall out from a series of insulting, racist emails sent by former PDP members leave Lisa and Harpreet with an ongoing battle to earn the trust back of the community they serve.
Guest
Lisa Maguire, Chief Defender, Private Defender Program, San Mateo County, CA
Harpreet Samra, Social Worker Lead, Private Defender Program, San Mateo County, CA
Resources:
Contact Lisa and Harpreet
lisam@smcba.org
harpreets@smcba.org
PDP Website
https://www.smcgov.org/private-defender-program
Past Reports on San Mateo
https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/system/files/private_defender_program.pdf
https://www.smcgov.org/media/2466/download?inline=
https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/system/files/balance_scale_of_justice.pdf
Emails About Silicon Valley De-Bug
https://x.com/svdebug/status/1838380292765327581
*** Note on the Episode****
Following my conversation with Lisa and Harpreet flat rate fees in the PDP, Lisa informed me that the Office of the State Public Defender in California released Standards for Contract Panels. They discourage any flat fee compensation. As a result, Lisa will now be working with the county to move away from the flat rate fees towards an all-hourly compensation rate.
New Standards Can be Found Here
https://www.ospd.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CA-Standards_ContractPanelDefense.pdf
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter spoke with two defense lawyers handling the USS Cole case out of Guantanamo Bay. Allison Miller and Katie Carmon are two of the defense counsel on the al-Nashiri, and last fall, they thought that after more than two decades of pre trial confinement, the cases would finally end when they entered into a plea negotiation with the government. Unfortunately, then Secretary of Defense Loyd Austin exercised undue and unlawful command influence by terminating the agreements. Now with a new administration, what is next for the never ending cases at Guantanamo Bay?
Guest
Allison Miller, Learned Counsel for Abdul Rahim al-Nashiri
Katie Carmon, Supervising Defense Counsel for the al-Nashiri Team
Resources:
Coverage of the Plea Deals
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/09/nx-s1-5252462/guantanamo-9-11-khalid-sheikh-mohammed-plea-deal
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/30/us/politics/911-case-plea-deals.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/appeals-court-plea-agreements-911-architect-khalid-sheikh-mohammed/
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/Secreary-Austin's-Fateful-GTMO-Plea-Deals-Decision
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/us/politics/defense-secretary-plea-deals.html
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patron
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
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Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
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Today, Hunter spoke with Travis Weiner the former Colorado Public Defender suing the State Public Defender for wrongful termination. As a Colorado Public Defender, Travis reached a point where he estimated he would need more than 4,000 hours to complete the cases assigned to him. At that point, Travis believed he had an ethical obligation to withdraw from a newly assigned case. Unfortunately, the Colorado State Public Defender did not support him. Instead, they fired him. Now he is suing the state for alleged retaliation.
Guest
Travis Weiner, Former Colorado State Public Defender and Current Public Defender, Taos, New Mexico
Resources:
Articles about Travis's Law Suit
Read Travis's Motion, Compliant and My Complaint and Affidavit Here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oz0-_Yi6EMqoh7s6f2a7xdrW-_28L1dv?usp=sharing
I have reached out for comment from OSPD in regards to Travis and my complaints. At this time, OSPD did not respond for comment. Last year, they sent me the following comment on Travis's complaint
"On behalf of OSPD, thank you for the invitation and concern regarding public defense in Colorado. Rules governing confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and employee privacy prevent us from discussing individual cases, particular motions, or a defender's practice. We are committed to ensuring that our clients receive high quality representation and will continue to support the defenders who do that work."
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patron
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
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Donate on Stripe
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Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
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