December 10, 2018

Press Release: Hearing on Participatory Defense

Posted on December 10, 2018August 2, 2023 by 2010admin

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][dt_fancy_image image_id=”15404″ width=”200″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3/4″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″ offset=”vc_col-lg-1 vc_col-md-1″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]For further information, contact:
Mandy Nace, 267-765-6319/215-806-0775

Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform Highlights the Importance of Participatory Defense

PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 10, 2018) Philadelphia’s Special Committee for Criminal Justice Reform co-chair Keir Bradford-Grey, along with fellow co-chairs Councilman Curtis Jones and retired Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, convened a hearing on participatory defense, a community-driven approach to criminal justice reform that brings families and communities together to create better outcomes and sustainable solutions.

“Participatory defense is transforming the landscape of power in the criminal justice system,” said Chief Defender Keir Bradford-Grey. “As we work with dynamic community organizers to establish participatory defense hubs across our city, we humanize the justice process and reduce our over-reliance on incarceration by helping individuals and their families at the pre-entry stage, or before trial. Right now, people are leaving our jails more desperate, having lost their housing, their benefits, and other supports. Community involvement through participatory defense can change that.

“I’m pleased that our city’s Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform could provide an opportunity for the people who have made participatory defense a success here in our city to share their experiences. Today is just the start of a longer conversation about how we can expand participatory defense and change the way we approach criminal justice reform.”

Facilitators from Philadelphia’s first three community hubs testified about their work to support individuals, their families, and the larger community through participatory defense. Hub facilitators Steve Austin and Valerie Todd, along with volunteer Pastor Harrod Clay, represented the Mothers in Charge Best Outcomes Hub, which meets every Tuesday evening in center city. Bethany Stewart and Kris Eden discussed their work to establish the South Philadelphia Hub which meets every Monday evening at Circle of Hope Church. Akeem Sims and Nupur Shridhar shared stories about their work at the Kingsessing Hub, which meets every Thursday at the Kingsessing Recreation Center.

The transformative power of participatory defense was amplified by former hub client Nicole Dorrell and Zakiyyah Salahuddin, a South Philly mother who became an active supporter for participatory defense after the hubs supported her son through a difficult case that ended with the dismissal of all charges.

“I can’t begin to explain how much this support means to me,” said Salahuddin. “At every step of the way, our lawyers and community supporters were right there with us. It’s hard to put into words how much that has helped us.”

Assistant Defender Isis Misdary described the power of participatory defense to influence the justice process. “As an attorney who referred several of my own cases to the participatory defense hubs, I can tell you that communities want a say in how their communities can be safer. The system dismantles and disrupts not only families, but also the communities in which individuals and their families live. By removing the person from her family, her community, we remove an opportunity for the community to intervene with a member of their own to heal and move forward.

“Participatory Defense unites communities and stakeholders in a collaborative pursuit of justice. We are changing how communities and stakeholders work together, and we’re transforming not only individual cases, but also, through individual cases, transforming the system itself and by extension, our communities.”

The Defender Association is an independent, nonprofit organization that provides high-quality, client-centered legal representation, connection to social services, and re-entry support to adults and juveniles in Philadelphia. Our organization represents more than 60 percent of adults and juveniles arrested in the City of Philadelphia. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″ offset=”vc_col-lg-1 vc_col-md-1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Criminal justice reform advocates talk about value of ‘participatory defense’

Posted on December 10, 2018August 2, 2023 by 2010admin

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1547148843137{padding-bottom: 40px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″ offset=”vc_col-lg-offset-3 vc_col-md-offset-3″][dt_fancy_image image_id=”15849″ width=”600″ height=”400″][vc_column_text]Steve Austin works with a Defender Association of Philadelphia program to advise defendants and others about tapping the resources available to them. — Bastiaan Slabbers for Keystone Crossroads.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]When Zakiyyah Salahuddin found out her teenage son was arrested for allegedly carrying a gun, she thought it was serious.

After she finally spoke with her 13-year-old son, Zaheim, and discovered the gun was fake and purchased at a local store, Salahuddin knew she had to fight to defend him.

“I couldn’t believe that he was arrested for a $3.50 toy — because it was a toy,” Salahuddin said.

Salahuddin had no idea how to navigate the juvenile justice system while her son spent three nights in the Juvenile Justice Center in August. She turned to family, who told her about a new program called participatory defense running out of the offices of Mothers in Charge in North Philadelphia and other hubs in the city.

Although skeptical at first, Salahuddin came to see the hub as a second family that helped her and her son understand his case, how to adequately prepare for it, find character witnesses to support Zaheim, and much more.

Salahuddin’s son’s case was well covered in the media this summer, and the charges against Zaheim were dropped and expunged. On Monday, Salahuddin testified along with other advocates and volunteers about the program during a Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reform at City Hall.

Councilman Curtis Jones, a co-chair of the committee, said the testimony will help determine whether the participatory defense programs ought to receive funding in the next budget.

Jones said he intended to take a firsthand look at the hubs to better understand how they operate.

“Each of us [on City Council] is not an expert on everything, so some of us have to take a deeper dive into a subject matter to be able to be authentic in our understanding of an issue to say, ‘Here’s why we’ve got to put money where our mouth is,’” Jones said.

Keir Bradford-Grey, a committee co-chair and chief defender of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, said the program cuts costs, promotes a more equitable criminal justice system and increases public safety.

“This is a viable resource to real criminal justice reform,” she said.

Participatory defense is a community-based approach to criminal justice reform for people charged with crimes. The hubs educate defendants about the facts of their cases and helps them tap into community resources for assistance.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1547149921615{padding-top: 50px !important;}”]TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE: CLICK HERE[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row]