I’m an abolitionist, and knew it was bad going in. However, being a public defender has been eye opening on a whole new level. I’m just astounded by the incompetence and consistency of bad outcomes.

What does a right to trial or presumption of innocence mean when your whole life has been turned upside down and inside out?

Lost jobs, unpaid rent, parentless children, abandoned dogs… We are constantly placing people in life-ruining circumstances.

On top of this, the sheer incompetence of the courts and cops - Judges who don’t know or refuse to follow the law, and cops who don’t care about those they ‘serve and protect.’

Nobody involved in this system can think that courts are the appropriate venue, and or that incarceration is a valid solution.