Gideon's Call: Amplify the Voice of the Accused

The Summer of 2020 - destined to be remembered as a season of unrest. In the shadow of a global pandemic that exposed gaping social disparities in economic and criminal justice, citizens across the country took to the streets in response to horrific acts of police violence against Black Americans. For attorney, author, and criminal justice advocate Jonathan Rapping, this conflux of events has produced a new, unprecedented reckoning of awareness.

"The nation has finally turned its attention to just how badly certain lives are devalued in America," says Rapping. "Confined to our homes, we were forced to watch this brutal violence against George Floyd, against Breanna Taylor, against Jacob Blake." 

One recent morning, however, Jonathan Rapping woke up to news left him hopeful. "All those athletes who refused to take to the court after the Blake shooting, and the others who followed their example. It felt like a turning point."

The public's demand for a more equitable criminal justice system is especially heartening for Rapping, president of Gideon's Promise, an organization he founded and developed with his wife Ilham Askia. The mission of Gideon's Promise is to transform the system by building a movement of its potentially most impactful reformers: the nation's public defenders. In his new book, "Gideon's Promise," published by Beacon Press, Rapping offers a blueprint for reform based on "awakening defenders to their role in upholding an unjust status quo and a renewed pride in the essential role of moral lawyering in a democratic society."

Public defenders are tasked with representing 80 percent of all those entrapped by the criminal justice system, most of them poor, a disproportionate number non-white.  Underfunded and overextended, defenders must contend with a power structure that neither sees nor acknowledge the humanity of defendants.

"For the most part, the violence that happens to black and brown people in the criminal justice system happens where there are no cameras. It's 'routine.' Thousands are arrested and held on money bonds they cannot afford to await trial. They are overcharged, over sentenced, and over incarcerated. Where the public defenders do battle for the accused, no one is watching. And for too long, we've been forced to fight with both hands tied."

The solution begins with the recruitment and training of attorneys, young men and women who understand that the role of the public defender is to amplify the voices of the accused.

"Public defenders are the only vehicle through which judges and prosecutors can see defendants as fully human, so they don't act on stereotypes. It's our role to stand up and say, 'before you destroy this life, let me introduce you to the human being behind the charge.'"

A portion of proceeds from the book go toward the work of Gideon's Promise to educate and support public defenders and advocate for fair policies and improved resources that ensure accused persons receive fair treatment, regardless of means.

Hear more from author and activist Jonathan Rapping at the National Urban League's upcoming Tech is the New Normal Virtual Summit. He is a featured panelist for the session, Meet the Key Masters: Innovators Unlocking the Future of Tech & Social Responsibility on September 24, 2020.