Image credit: Beacon Press
Law professor Jonathan Rapping says public defenders impact more than just what happens in the courtroom and should lead the charge to end mass incarceration.
Public defenders are a critical aspect of the U.S. criminal justice system as they help 80% of the people who interact with the court systems.
When Jonathan Rapping first started practicing law as a public defender, he did not fully appreciate the role and impact that public defenders play in ensuring justice for marginalized people. But in the years since then, that’s changed and in his new book, Rapping argues that overhauling the public defender system could radically change the nation’s criminal justice system for the better.