Community Members, Advocacy Groups Thank Public Defenders, Calling for Increased Funding

Stoneleigh Fellow Raj Jayadev spoke at a recent virtual discussion entitled “How Public Defender Offices Implement Policy to End Mass Incarceration.”

CALIFORNIA – California community members and judicial laborers led a virtual discussion last Friday entitled “How Public Defender Offices Implement Policy to End Mass Incarceration,” and speakers included state lawmakers, public defenders, and ACLU representatives.

Advocates voiced concerns over California’s incarceration rates and applauded public defenders’ fight for justice.

“And all of the expressions of police violence, pre-trial detention, excessive sentencing, criminalization of our youth – these are the issues our movement for racial justice marches for, holds rallies for, works with you all to change the laws for,” said Raj Jayadev, representative for Silicon Valley De-Bug.

“But these are also the arenas – the systemic assaults that public defenders fight against person by person, loved one by loved one, every single day on behalf of our community,” he added.

View the Full Article