Shows / Public Defenseless
Public Defenseless
Anyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system perpetuates cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people just trying to get through another day. Public Defenseless explores the rot in the system and what we can do about it. Host and public defender Hunter Parnell talks with defense attorneys, advocates, scholars and journalists from across the country as they pull apart the system's convoluted web. Views are the host's and guests' own, not…
Episodes
Public Defenseless353 | After 18 Years in Prison, How One Man is Still Fighting to Prove his Innocence w/Ivery Dorsey
Today, Hunter was joined by Ivery Dorsey, a man who for the last 18 years was incarcerated for a homicide he did not commit. On a previous episode on the show…
Public Defenseless352 | How Public Defense in Harris County Texas Evolved from a Contract System to a Holistic One w/Alex Bunin
Today, Hunter spoke with Harris County, Texas Chief Public Defender Alex Bunin. Just over a decade ago, Public Defense in Harris County looked like it did in…
Public Defenseless351 | How Flat-Fee Contracts Undermine the Right to Counsel in California w/Josh Schwartz
Today, Hunter sat with Josh Occhiogrosso-Schwartz, a Principal at the Wren Collective, to discuss their recent report on flat rate Public Defender contracts in…
Public Defenseless350 | The Tech Company Helping Public Defenders Track and Exploit Police Misconduct w/Julie Ciccolini
Today, Hunter spoke with Julie Ciccolini, the CEO of Techtivist. When she was working as a paralegal at the NY Legal Aid Society, Julie, like so many in a…
Public Defenseless349 | The ACLU Lawsuit Helping to Radically Reimagine Public Defense in Maine w/Zachary Heiden, Carol Garvan, and Eve Primus
Today, Hunter sat down with Zachary Heiden, Carol Garvan, and Professor Eve Primus to discuss the ACLU of Maine's major victory in the fight to change Maine's…
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RE-RELEASE: Secrets of the Killing State: How the Truth of Lethal Injection Could End the Death Penalty w/Corinna Lain
Today, Hunter is Re-Releasing his episode with Professor of Law Corinna Lain becuase her book, Secretes of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal…
Public Defenseless348 | How Prosecutors, Cops, and an ICE Agent Conspired to Kidnap a Man in the Middle of his Trial w/Murat Erkan
Today, Hunter spoke Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Murat Erkan. Recently, Murat represented Wilson Martell-Lebron in a criminal trial in Boston…
Public Defenseless347 | How Participatory Defense has and can help Minnesota Public Defenders w/Damon Drake
Today, Hunter spoke with Damon Drake, Executive Director of We Resolve Minnesota, a participatory defense organization out of the twin cities. As is the case…
Public Defenseless346 | The Revival of Public Defense in Santa Cruz County California w/Heather Rogers and Caitlin Becker
Today, Hunter spoke with Heather Rogers and Caitlin Becker of the Santa Cruz County Public Defenders. In 2020, the Sixth Amendment Center put together a report…
Public Defenseless345 | Will Governor Jeff Landry's Push to Execute More People get an Innocent Man Killed? w/Piper French
Today, Hunter spoke with journalist Piper French about the wrongful conviction of Jimmie "Chris" Duncan. In 1998, Duncan was convicted of murdering his…
Public Defenseless344 | When Public Defenders Support Community Organizing, Community will Organize to Support Public Defense w/Heather Lewis
Today, Hunter sat down with Heather Lewis a participatory defense organizer and the Executive Director of the Reuniting Family Bail Fund. Unlike many places…
Public Defenseless343 | How the Neglect and Indifference of the Jefferson County Jail Killed a 76 Year Old Man Suffering from Parkinson's and Dementia w/Darold Killmer and Maddie Lips
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…
Public Defenseless342 | What was Revealed about the Death Penalty When a Man on Death Row Volunteered to be Executed? w/Gianna Toboni
Today, Hunter spoke with Emmy Award winning documentarian and investigative journalist, Gianna Toboni to discuss her new book The Volunteer: The Failure of the…
Public Defenseless341 | Why did a Judge Stop a Defense Lawyer from Showing the Jury the Complaining Witness's Habit of Fabricating Evidence w/Blake Weiner
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…
Public Defenseless340 | The Amendment to Louisiana's Constitution that is Trying to Make it Easier to Send Kids to Angola Prison w/Kristen Rome
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…
Public Defenseless339 | Did One Woman Coerce her Foster Kids into Wrongfully Accusing their Family of Sexual Abuse? w/Amy Parker
Today, Hunter spoke with former Public Defender and current Criminal Defense Lawyer Amy Parker about a shocking wrongful conviction case. Normally, Public…
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338 | How Trump is Using the Alien Enemies Act to Destroy Due Process Protections w/Nayna Gupta
Today, Hunter spoke with Nayna Gupta of the American Immigration Council. This conversation covers a recent slate of Trump Administration Immigration Policies…
Public Defenseless337 | How Does Silicon Valley De-Bug San Mateo Hope to Improve Public Defense and the Criminal Legal System w/Ana Ramirez Zarate and Lourdes Best
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…
- Public Defenseless
336 | How the San Mateo Private Defender Program is Trying to Earn Back the Community's Trust w/Lisa Maguire and Harpreet Samra
Today, Hunter spoke with Lisa Maguire and Harpreet Samra of the San Mateo County Private Defender Program. Unlike the normal contract Public Defender model…
Public Defenseless335 | How Sec Def Austin Interfered with the 9/11 and U.S.S. Cole Case Plea Deals w/Allison Miller and Katie Carmon
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…
Public Defenseless334 | Was a Former Colorado Public Defender Fired for Raising Concerns over his Workload? w/Travis Weiner
Today, Hunter spoke with Travis Weiner the former Colorado Public Defender suing the State Public Defender for wrongful termination. As a Colorado Public…
Public Defenseless333 | How The American Eugenics Movement Helped Create Habitual Offender Laws w/Daniel Loehr
Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Daniel Loehr to discuss his research on the Eugenics Origin of Habitual Offender Laws. While many people hear habitual…
Public Defenseless332 | The Coalition Fighting to Save New York's Discovery Laws w/Amanda Jack and Kalle Condliffe
Today, Hunter spoke with Amanda Jack and Kalle Condliffe of the New York Legal Aid Society about the fight to save Kalief's Law. This law, passed in 2020…
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331 | How the Far West Texas Public Defenders Uncovered a Pattern of Discovery Violations in El Paso w/James McDermott and Paul Chambers
Today, Hunter spoke with Paul Chambers and James McDermott of the Far West Texas Public Defenders Office. This time, they joined to discuss how Paul discovered…
- Public Defenseless
330 | The Fight to Reform Oklahoma's Failure to Protect Laws w/Alexandra Bailey and Cindy Nguyen
Today, Hunter spoke with Alexandra Bailey and Cindy Nguyen to discuss Oklahoma's Failure to Protect Laws. A few years back, Alexandra joined the show to…
Public Defenseless329 | Prosecutorial Reform and the Myth of Individualized Enforcement w/Justin Murray
Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Justin Murray about his recent law review article, Prosecutorial Reform and the Myth of Individualized Enforcement. On…
Public Defenseless328 | How the Laken Riley Act Could Get Innocent People Sent to Guantanamo Bay w/Ann Block and Nithya Nathan-Pineau
Today, Hunter spoke with Ann Block and Nithya Nathan-Pineau from the Immigrant Resource Legal Center to discuss the newest immigration related legislation…
Public Defenseless327 | Should we Have Universal Public Defense w/Alexis Hoag-Fordjour
Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Alexis Hoag-Fordjour about two of her most recent law review articles. In her first, she argues for a new way of thinking…
Public Defenseless326 | How Cuyahoga County Jail Keeps Prisoners from their Family and Records their Conversations w/Nikki Baszynski
Today, Hunter spoke once again with Nikki Baszynski of the Wren Collective to talk about the Criminal Legal System in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. This time, they…
Public Defenseless325 | Is Kansas Public Defense on the Verge of a Crisis? w/Heather Cessna
Today, Hunter spoke once again with Heather Cessna, the Executive Director of the Kansas Board of Indigents' Defense Services. This time, Hunter and Heather…
Public Defenseless324 | The Fight to End Youth Shackling and Limit Mass Surveillance in Virginia w/Rob Poggenklass and Bryan Kennedy
Today, Hunter spoke once again with Rob Poggenklass and Bryan Kennady from Justice Forward Virginia. Last year, Justice Forward Virginia joined the show to…
Public Defenseless323 | How One Inconsistent Eye Witness Led to the Wrongful Conviction of Ivery Dorsey w/Kerrie Liang
Today, Hunter spoke with Kerrie Liang, a student at Princeton University, to discuss the wrongful conviction of Ivery Dorsey. Through her and classmates work…
Public Defenseless322 | The Impact of and the Resistance to Mass Deportation Policies w/Hans Meyer and Holly Lucas
Today, Hunter spoke with Hans Meyer and Holly Lucas to discuss a variety of topics at the intersection of the criminal legal and immigration systems. With the…
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321 | How Virginia Prison Officials Lied About Red Onion Prisoner Lighting Themselves on Fire w/Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Today, Hunter spoke with Senior Reporter at The Appeal, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg. A few weeks ago, Hunter was joined by Phil Wilayto of the Virginia Defender…
Public Defenseless320 | Carceral Apartheid: How Lies and White Supremacists Run Our Prisons w/Brittany Friedman
Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Brittany Freidman about her new book Carceral Apartheid. In this book, Professor Freidman tells the story of the California…
Public Defenseless319 | How a Petty Theft Could get you 180 Days in Jail in Rifle Municipal Court w/Scott Troxell
Today, Hunter sat down with Scott Troxell to wrap up our conversation on Colorado Municipal Courts. This time, the conversation focuses on how Rifle Municipal…
Public Defenseless318 | How to Fight and Abolish the Death Penalty Outside of the Courtroom w/Abraham Bonowitz
Today, Hunter sat down with longtime death penalty abolitionist activist Abraham Bonowitz. On previous episodes about death penalty abolition, the show has…
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317 | How Pueblo Municipal Court Used Contempt of Court to Send People to Jail for Years w/Keri Williams
Today, Hunter sat down with Keri Williams to continue our coverage of Municipal Courts in Colorado. This time, they discussed how Pueblo Municipal Courts were…
Public Defenseless316 | The Everyday Cruelty in Westminster Municipal Court w/Alison Gordon
Today, Hunter sat down with Alison Gordon to continue our coverage of Municipal Courts in Colorado. This time, the discussion focuses on the extremely punitive…
Public Defenseless315 | How People Are Denied the Right to Counsel in Grand Junction Municipal Court w/Tristan Gorman and Rebecca Wallace
Today, Tristan Gorman and Rebecca Wallace are back this time to discuss municipal courts in Colorado. This episode is the first of our four-part series on…
Public Defenseless314 | The Policies Making Colorado More "Tough on Crime" w/Tristan Gorman and Rebecca Wallace
Today, Tristan Gorman and Rebecca Wallace join the show to discuss the policies, ballot initiatives, and rhetoric from district attorneys that is pushing…
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BONUS: Discussion/Debate w/a Former Cop about The Killing of Roger Fortson, The Execution of Marcellus Williams and The Citation of a Homeless Pregnant Woman in KY
A Bonus Episode for everyone! On Monday, I had a discussion/debate with Daniel Carr, a former cop from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Today, we discussed/debated the…
Public Defenseless2024 Wrap Up, Top 10 Episodes of 2024, and What is Next for the Show
Thank you to everyone who has made the show possible this year. Whether you are a listener, a subscriber, a guest, or a friend of the show, this show would not…
Public Defenseless313 | How Marsy's Law is Undermining the Criminal Legal System w/Ráchael Powers
Today, Hunter is joined by professor Ráchael Powers to discuss Marsy's Law. For those unfamiliar, Marsy's Law is one of many types of Victim's Bill of Rights…
Public Defenseless312 | How to Create More Opportunities to Fight the Government's Case Pre-Trial w/Chesa Boudin and Eric Fish
Today, Hunter is joined once again by Eric Fish and Chesa Boudin. This time, Eric and Chesa join the show to discuss a recent law review article they published…
Public Defenseless311 | How the Supreme Court Injected Chaos and Confusion into the Second Amendment w/Jacob Charles
Today, Hunter is joined by Professor Jacob Charles to discuss the Second Amendment. Since D.C. v Heller in 2008, the Second Amendment transformed from nearly…
Public Defenseless310 | How the Junk Science Shaken Baby Syndrome Infected the Criminal Legal System w/Dr. Julie Mack and Randy Papetti
Today, Hunter is joined by Dr. Julie Mack and Randy Papetti to discuss Shaken Baby Syndrome. Also known as Abusive Head Trauma, Shaken Baby Syndrome started…
Public Defenseless309 | The Problems and Promise of Public Defense in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania w/Rob Perkins and Dan Eichinger
Today, Hunter is joined by Rob Perkins and Dan Eichinger to discuss Public Defense in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. If you've listened to the show long…
Public Defenseless308 | How the Fear of Too Much Justice Keeps Our Legal System Cruel w/Stephen Bright
Today, Hunter is joined by Professor Stephen Bright to discuss his new book, the Fear of Too Much Justice. Over decades of work as an attorney, Steve has been…
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307 | Why Are Prisoners at Virginia's Red Onion Prison Severely Burning Themselves? w/Phil Wilayto
Today, Hunter is joined the Editor of the Virginia Defender Newspaper, Phil Wilayto to try and understand a simple question: Why are people incarcerated at…
Public Defenseless306 | Why it's Nearly Impossible to Hold the Government Accountable for Violating your Rights w/Joanna Schwartz
Today, Hunter is joined by Professor Joanna Schwartz to discuss Civil Rights Litigation. Like they did for the rights of criminal defendants, the conservative…
Public Defenseless305 | How Prosecutors Might get Rewarded for Messing Up the Harvey Weinstein Case w/Amanda Jack
Today, Hunter is joined by Amanda Jack of the New York Legal Aid Society. Today, Amanda and Hunter are discussing the Harvey Weinstein trial. Specifically…
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304 | One Step Forward and Two Steps Back Mississippi Public Defense w/Andre de Gruy
Today, Hunter is joined once again by Andre de Gruy, Chief Public Defender of Mississippi. The last time Andre was on the show, he and Hunter discussed some…
Public Defenseless303 | How A.I. Can Help Public Defenders Challenge Police and Prosecutors Part 2 w/Prabhas Pokharel
Today, Hunter is joined be the Co-Founder of Reduct, Prabhas Pokharel. Building from Tuesday's conversation about tech, AI, and Public Defense, Hunter and…
- Public Defenseless
302 | How A.I. is Helping Police and Prosecutors Surveil, Arrest, and Incarcerate People w/Andrew Ferguson
Today, Hunter is joined once again by Professor Andrew Ferguson. Last time Andrew was on the show, he and Hunter discussed the state of the 4th Amendment in…
Public Defenseless301 | How A.I. Can Help Public Defenders Challenge Police and Prosecutors Part 1 w/IV Ashton
Today, Hunter is joined by IV Ashton, Founder and President of Legal Server, to discuss how a quality case management system and powerful AI tools can help…
Public Defenseless300 | How Mitigation is Helping Veterans Escape the Criminal Legal System w/Nancy Farrell and Dee Miller
Today, Hunter is joined by Nancy Farrell and Dee Miller of the New York Vet Defense Program. Previously on the show, Hunter and other guests have described the…
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299 | How NAPD is Fostering a National Forum for Public Defense Innovations w/Jeff Sherr
Today, Hunter is joined once again by NAPD's Jeff Sherr. This time, they sat down to discuss NAPD's new Change Maker Forum, what Hunter learned from attending…
Public Defenseless298 |What the History of ULCA's Police Department Tells Us About the Issues with Campus Police w/Andrew Guerrero
Today, Hunter is joined by Ph.D. candidate and law student Andrew Gurrero to discuss his research about the evolution of the UCLA police department. In this…
Public Defenseless297 | The Successes and Failings of Plea Bargaining in Europe w/Rebecca Shaeffer
Today, Hunter is joined once again by Rebecca Schaffer to discuss plea bargaining in Europe. As we did on Tuesday, this episode aims to help people understand…