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.
Recently, Hunter was a guest host on the Another Not Guilty Podcast, and he is happy to share that episode today as a bonus show!
The Another Not Guilty Podcast details true crime's forbidden stories of the criminal system from the insiders' perspective of public defenders told with a little humor, drama, and passion for criminal justice reform. Visit them at www.anothernotguiltypod.com
In this week's episode we have Hunter Parnell from the Public Defenseless podcast as a co-host. And also our guest PD is Hillary from Salt Lake City who shares her story of walking her client out the front door on a murder charge stemming from when he was 16 years old and being in the car when the driver shot and killed someone and blamed him.
You subscribe to Another Not Guilty Podcast on
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TxGjq1zzMh5F6bHG8wvEE
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnotherNG_pod
Sometimes referred to as Civil Asset Forfeiture, today's episode is an examination of the legalized theft that is civil forfeiture. Joining Hunter to unpack the intricacies of this topic, is Dan Alban. In his role at the Institute for Justice, Dan is one of the people at the forefront of people pushing back against the practice that flips the concept of innocent until proven guilty on its head. As you will hear on this episode, the complex legal nature of this topic masks a process that most Americans, when exposed to it, will viciously oppose.
Guests:
Dan Alban, Senior Attorney at the Institute for Justice/Co-Director of the Campaign to end Forfeiture Abuse
Resources:
Richardson v. $20,771.00 U.S. Currency
More on Richardson Case
Policing for Profit Report
https://ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-3/
End Forfeiture Abuse
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Whether you call it Jury Nullification or Conscientious Acquittal, today's episode is all about the fight to reinvigorate the jury trial and the independence of the jury. Joining Hunter to discuss is Clark Neily, Senior VP for Legal Studies at the CATO Institute. Before America was even a country, the power of a jury to acquit someone of a charge they were legally guilty of because the jury disagree with the law as applied in this case was unquestioned. Over time however, prosecutors and judges pushed for and enabled the gradual erosion of the juries power. Now, more than 250 years after the founding, the jury trial is little more than a relic of the past, and even a whisper of jury independence in a court room can get jurors removed from a case. How did this happen and what can be done to reverse this trend? Find out by listening to today's episode!
Guests:
Clark Neily, Senior Vice President for Legal Studies, CATO Institute
Resources:
Trial of John Peter Zenger
https://www.ushistory.org/us/7c.asp
Follow Clark on Twitter (not calling it X not even if there is a fire)
https://twitter.com/conlawwarrior/with_replies
CATO Jury Independence
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A little less than a year ago, Hunter spoke with Alexandra Bailey of the Sentencing Project to explore why states like Oklahoma so readily punish the survivors of domestic violence. Today, Hunter returns to Oklahoma to speak with Colleen McCarty and Leslie Briggs from Oklahoma Appleseed to discuss their work in trying to push back against the expansion of the carceral state in Oklahoma. In particular, this conversation centers in large part about the Wrongful Conviction of April Wilkens. With their podcast "Panic Button" Colleen, Leslie and all of Appleseed hope to expose the injustice in April's case, but also hope people realize that April is one of many women who face the power of the carceral state who are survivors of domestic violence.
Guests:
Colleen McCarty, Founding Executive Director, Oklahoma Appleseed
Leslie Briggs, Legal Director, Oklahoma Appleseed
Resources:
Visit OK Appleseed
Follow OK Appleseed on:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OKAppleseedCenter/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ok_appleseed
Twitter https://twitter.com/OK_Appleseed
Listen to the Panic Button Podcast
https://panicbuttontheaprilwilkenscase.podbean.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/panic-button/id1630829857
Oklahoma Bill to Help Domestic Violence Survivors
Oklahoma School Superintendent no China in Schools
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In the state of Georgia, the Public Defender Counsel lacks independence from the Executive Branch. As a result, their ability to speak out on social issues is severely limited. For former Georgia Public Defender Devin Franklin, the inability to speak out against police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd drove him out of a decade long career in Public Defense. For him, and for Hunter, the advocacy of a Public Defender cannot end in the four walls of the court room. Tune in to today's conversation to hear about the Fulton County Jail, Cop City, and what the Public Defender Council of Georgia should be doing to call out these injustices
Guests:
Devin Franklin, Movement Policy Counsel, Southern Center for Human Rights
Resources:
Southern Center for Human Rights
Follow Devin on Twitter
https://twitter.com/BrotherInLawATL
Timeline of Cop City
https://scalawagmagazine.org/2023/05/cop-city-atlanta-history-timeline/
Autopsy of activist, Manuel Paez Teran , killed at Cop City
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/atlanta-cop-city-manuel-paez-teran-autopsy/
DOJ investigates Fulton County Jail
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/doj-investigation-fulton-county-jail-inmate-death-other-reports
Deaths in Fulton County Jail
https://theappeal.org/fulton-county-jail-deaths-spiked-2022-pad-funding/
Inside Fulton County Jail
Register for the SCHR Pain and Power: Confronting Police Violence in Atlanta Seminar August 19th at The King Center 449 Auburn Avenue Northeast Atlanta, GA 30312
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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Crushing workloads. High Turnover Rates. Low Pay. This is not the first time these topics have been brought up on the show, but today, Hunter spoke with two Maryland Public Defenders, Edie Fortuna and Jose Teneza, to discuss how those factors drove the Public Defenders to unionize.
Guests:
Edie Fortuna, Assistant Public Defender, Maryland
Jose Teneza, Assistant Public Defender, Maryland
Resources:
Prepare Parole Maryland
Maryland Public Defender
Annual Reports
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25ind/html/61pubdr.html
2005 National Center for State Courts Workload Report
https://silo.tips/download/maryland-attorney-and-staff-workload-assessment-2005
Listen to Jose's Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watch-skip/id1640540726
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
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Today, Hunter spoke with two New York Criminal Defense Attorneys, Richard Willstatter and Stan Germán, to discuss the crisis at Rikers Island. For more than a decade, there has been a class action lawsuit against the city because of the inhumane conditions in the jails. Sadly, the calls for closure, reform, or receivership have continuously fallen on deaf ears. As a result, the death toll in Riker's is reaching record highs. While there may be good news coming in the near term as people with power finally decide to act, it cannot be forgotten that with every passing day, the lives of every person in the jail are at risk.
Guests:
Richard Willstatter, Partner, Law Offices of Green and Willstatter
Stan Germán, Executive Director, New York County Defender Services
Resources:
NY Times Death Tracker at Rikers
https://www.nytimes.com/article/rikers-deaths-jail.html
Federal Prosecutor Urges Takeover of Rikers Island
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/nyregion/rikers-island-federal-takeover.html
NYCDS
Timeline of Events at Rikers
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2023/07/timeline-closure-rikers-island/376662/
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Today, Hunter is joined by Annie Morgan, a Criminal Defense Appeals Attorney with the Guantanamo Bay Military Commission Defense Organization, to continue to the story of Guantanamo Bay where John Baker left off. Once John had the defenders responsible for the al-Nashiri case move off, Annie Morgan and a new team of defenders tried to pick up the pieces. On today's episode, we dive deeper in the war on terror, the legacy of the attack on the USS Cole, and what the never ending torture of al-Nashiri should mean to the every single American whose name it was done in.
Guests:
Annie Morgan, Criminal Defense Appeals Attorney, Military Commissions Defense Organization, Guantanamo Bay
Resources:
Bombing of the USS Cole
https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/world/meast/uss-cole-bombing-fast-facts/index.html
1998 Kenyan Embassy Bombings
https://www.state.gov/23rd-commemoration-of-the-august-7th-u-s-embassy-bombings/
Clinton Response to Embassy Bombings
Carol Rosenberg Writings on GITMO
https://www.nytimes.com/by/carol-rosenberg
Follow Carol on Twitter
https://twitter.com/carolrosenberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Follow GITMO Watch on Twitter
https://twitter.com/GitmoWatch?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
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Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
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Today, Hunter kicks off this week's theme of Guantanamo Bay coverage by speaking with BGen (Ret) John Baker. When John Baker took over as the lead defense counsel for the Military Commission Defense Organization at Guantanamo Bay, he could not imagine the abuse of power that he would go up against. From FBI informants being planted on the defense team, to classified surveillance of the conversations between defense counsel and client, and the brutal, nearly relentless torture of the detainees, John saw it all. Even with potential confinement looming over his head, John never stopped fighting for the rights of his clients.
Guests:
BGen (Ret) John Baker, Chief Public Defender of the Federal District of Western North Carolina
Resources:
John Baker Testimony to Senate Judiciary
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Baker%20Testimony2.pdf
Guantánamo hearings halted amid accusations of FBI spying on legal team
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/14/guantanamo-bay-hearing-halted-fbi-spying
John Baker Confinement Story
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/03/john-baker-released-guantanamo-dispute-244523
Carol Rosenberg Writings on GITMO
https://www.nytimes.com/by/carol-rosenberg
Follow Carol on Twitter
https://twitter.com/carolrosenberg?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Follow John on Twitter
https://twitter.com/jgbaker1806?lang=en
Follow GITMO Watch on Twitter
https://twitter.com/GitmoWatch?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Baker v Spath
https://casetext.com/case/brigadier-gen-john-g-baker-us-marine-corps-v-spath
UN Report on GTMO
More from Nashiri Case
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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With every passing day, a new technology becomes available for police, prosecutors and the state to further side step the Fourth Amendment. On today's show, Hunter sat down with Dhruv Mehrotra, staff writer for Wired Magazine, to discuss the latest horrifying surveillance tech coming to a jurisdiction near you. Covenant Eyes started out as a way for couples and churches to "help" people fight they perceived to be an addiction to porn, but from the very beginning the obvious potential for abuse was on full display. Join Hunter and Dhruv as they unpack the story of how an entire family came under surveillance of the state merely because of an allegation.
Guests:
Dhruv Mehrotra, Staff Writer, Wired Magazine
Resources:
Check out all of Dhruv's work here:
https://www.wired.com/author/dhruv-mehrotra/
Covenant Eyes writing
https://www.wired.com/story/anti-porn-covenant-eyes-bond-revoked/
https://www.wired.com/story/covenant-eyes-anti-porn-accountability-monitoring-apps/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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