Today, Hunter was joined once again by the Chief Public Defender of Delaware, Kevin O’Connell. This time, the two focused on the see-saw history of death penalty abolition in the state of Delaware. It may come as a surprise to many, but Delaware has historically been one of the most prolific death penalty states in America, and today, Kevin and Hunter discuss the politics and policies that kept the death penalty alive and thriving in the state. Finally, they discuss what lessons those interested in death penalty abolition can learn from the meandering path that Delaware took to get on the door step of a Constitutional ban on the practice.

Guest

Kevin O’Connell, Chief Public Defender, Defender Services of Delaware

Resources:

More on the Death Penalty in Delaware

http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/delaware-officially-removes-death-penalty-from-state-statutes-eight-years-after-state-supreme-court-finds-it-unconstitutional

https://deathpenalty.org/delaware-officially-repeals-its-death-penalty/

https://www.aclu-de.org/en/death-penalty-repeal

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Today, Hunter was by the Public Defender for the state of Idaho, Eric Fredericksen. Over the past two years, Public Defense in Idaho underwent a massive overhaul. For decades, the state has operated a county-based system that functioned with serious justice by geography problems, but with pressure from ACLU lawsuits, the state needed to change. So, they finally made the decision to transition to a state wide, state funded system. The transition, however, has been anything but smooth. Eric and Hunter discuss that transition, and why Eric is optimistic about the future given the strong support from the legislature and Governor in this first budget cycle. 

Guest

Eric Fredericksen, The State Public Defender, Idaho

Resources:

Idaho Public Defender Reports

Idaho Public Defense Workload Study

https://www.boisestate.edu/sps-ipi/our-research/idaho-public-defense-workload-study/

News about the Transition

https://isb.idaho.gov/blog/the-state-public-defender-act-continuing-the-journey-of-public-defense-in-idaho-by-jordan-s-crane/

https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/10/15/concerns-raised-about-idahos-new-public-defense-system-after-exodus-in-public-defenders/

https://blog.idahoreports.idahoptv.org/2024/09/16/public-defense-changeover-raises-concerns-for-some/

https://gov.idaho.gov/pressrelease/eric-fredericksen-to-lead-new-office-of-the-state-public-defender/

https://www.mtexpress.com/news/blaine_county/public-defense-transition-gets-off-to-rocky-start/article_1ac2a83a-8cc2-11ef-9f78-6ffe80dd4216.html

https://blog.idahoreports.idahoptv.org/2024/10/23/judge-demands-answers-from-idaho-state-public-defender-after-defendants-left-without-counsel/

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article297887643.html

https://dailymontanan.com/2025/01/06/headed-for-a-disaster-aclu-asks-idaho-supreme-court-to-order-public-defense-system-reform/

News About Death Penalty in Idaho

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/idaho-governor-signs-legislation-authorizing-firing-squad-as-states-primary-execution-method

https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/03/17/idaho-house-unanimously-passes-child-sex-abuse-death-penalty-bill/

https://gov.idaho.gov/pressrelease/gov-littles-statement-on-death-penalty-for-pedophiles/

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Today, Hunter was joined by Hans Menos and Robe Kenter of the Center for Policing Equity. They sat down to discuss the successes their organization has had in trying create a more equitable legal system and understanding of how we can create safer communities.  

Guest

Hans Menos, VP Public Safety Innovations and Government Affairs, Center for Policing Equity

Rob Kenter, Senior Director of Public Safety, Center for Policing

Resources:

Center for Policing Equity

https://policingequity.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=10276392455&gbraid=0AAAAACb2uw87ItPJ0G_93Si8AzxlC0WCD&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0qTCBhCmARIsAAj8C4ahIXfE1Rgj97RXl4rAs8f-QmLZ_fXFRtYpQ7oS9UjSONAw-5XNlXYaAoBgEALw_wcB

https://www.instagram.com/policingequity/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/centerforpolicingequity/

https://www.facebook.com/CenterForPolicingEquity

https://www.tiktok.com/@policingequity

https://www.threads.com/@policingequity?hl=en

https://www.youtube.com/@policingequity

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Today, Hunter was joined by two San Francisco Public Defenders, Sujung Kim and Lilah Wolf, to discuss their recent Racial Justice Act Victory. This California law was designed in part to give public defenders the tools to get explicit and implicit racism out of the criminal legal system. Today, we discussed how it came to be, why it needs to be in place, and how public defenders in California and around the country could be using it.  

Guest

Sujung Kim, Deputy Public Defender, San Francisco, California

Lilah Wolf, Deputy Public Defender, San Francisco, California

Resources:

Contact the SF Public Defender

ttps://sfpublicdefender.org/

https://www.facebook.com/sfpublicdefender

https://x.com/sfdefender

https://www.instagram.com/sfpublicdefender/

Exhibits from the Trial

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Qd5HC8wB7HuV_xoh6fHLQwRMmybJWShD?usp=sharing

Read More About the Case

https://sfpublicdefender.org/news/2025/03/10462/

https://davisvanguard.org/2025/03/san-francisco-public-defenders-win-landmark-racial-justice-act-case/

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Today, Hunter was joined by two former police officers turned defense witness experts. Christina Sally and Chris Bertram joined the show to discuss their insights into the many ways in which police officers mess up the investigations into claims of child sexual assault cases.

Guest

Christina Sally PhD, Consultant, Defense Expert Witness, Retired Law Enforcement Officer

Chris Bertram, Retired Chief of Police, Associate Professor, Defense Expert Witness

Resources:

Email Christina

[email protected]

https://www.drchristinasallyphd.com/

Email Chris

[email protected]

https://www.tbertramgroup.com/team.php

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

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Today, Hunter was joined once again by Los Angeles County Chief Public Defender Ricardo Garcia. This time, they discuss how the new LA County DA is trying to bring back the death penalty and the impact of Prop 36 and the Los Angeles Wildfires on Public Defenders and their clients.

Guest

Ricardo Garcia, The Public Defender of Los Angeles County, California

Resources:

Contact the LA County Public Defender

https://pubdef.lacounty.gov/

https://www.instagram.com/lapubdef/

https://www.facebook.com/LACOUNTYPD/

https://x.com/lapubdef

https://www.linkedin.com/company/lapubdef

LA DA Brings Back Death Penalty

https://lacounty.gov/2025/03/25/los-angeles-public-defender-denounces-the-district-attorneys-decision-to-revive-the-death-penalty/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/26/los-angeles-da-death-penalty

Prop 36

https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/crimjust/2025/Fiscal-Impacts-of-Proposition-36-022525.pdf

https://www.ppic.org/blog/early-implementation-of-prop-36-varies-widely-across-counties/

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Today, Hunter was joined once again Elisabeth Pollock and for the first time Stephanie Kollmann. On today’s episode, the three discuss the Fair Act in Illinois. This pending piece of legislation is set to be the first step for the state of Illinois to provide statewide support to Public Defense. Will it happen? Why is it necessary? All that and more on today’s episode.

Guest

Elisabeth Pollock, Chief Public Defender, Champagne County, Illinois

Stephanie Kollmann, Policy Director, Children Family Justice Center, Northwestern University School of Law

Resources:

Sixth Amendment Center Illinois

https://6ac.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/6AC_illinois_report_2021.pdf

Task Force Report

https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/News/1378/Court-shining-light-on-the-need-for-indigent-defense-reform/news-detail/

Fair Act

https://fairactil.org/

https://ilpublicdefenderstats.org/fairact/

Contact Stephanie

https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/cfjc/aboutus/

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Today, Hunter was joined once again by the Chief Public Defender for South Carolina’s 9th Circuit, Cameron Blazer. This time, we discuss workload issues in her Circuit and how a new bail laws and immigration enforcement are making matters worse.

Guest

Cameron Blazer, Circuit Public Defender, 9th Circuit, Charleston and Berkley, South Carolina

Resources:

Email Cameron Here

[email protected]

SCCID

https://sccid.sc.gov/

Bond Laws

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/special_reports/bond-reform-law-one-year-impact-south-carolina-violent-crime/article_c1b6a062-3220-11ef-b36b-178c43f76495.html

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/bills/3532.htm

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Today, Hunter was joined by Professor Andrew Crespo to continue the conversation about how we can improve how criminal law is taught. On this episode, we dive into the new criminal law text book that Andrew and his co-author, John Rappaport, recently published to learn a better way to teach criminal law.

Guest

Andrew Crespo, Professor of Law, Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law Executive Faculty Director, Institute to End Mass Incarceration, Harvard University

Resources:

Andrew’s Faculty Page

https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/andrew-m-crespo/

Andrew and John’s Book

https://aspenpublishing.com/products/crespo-criminallawamericanpenalsys?srsltid=AfmBOoqnaBc-2_PBCEJcaHFiEERzwgSJJwMWFPTXMtAl3xkWozObifci

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Today, Hunter was joined by Professor Alice Ristroph for the first of a two-part focus on how and why we teach Criminal Law the way we do. On today’s episode, Hunter and Alice explore the historical roots of criminal law teaching, critique it, and discuss ways in which we can improve how criminal law is taught to law students.

Guest

Alice Ristroph, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School

Resources:

Contact Alice Here

https://www.brooklaw.edu/contact-us/ristroph-alice/writings/

Read Alice’s Law Review Article

https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/faculty/1257/

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