Public defenders overlooked in prison reform effort

The secret is out: Mississippi has a prison problem. During the past 10 years, our state’s prison population has grown four times faster than our overall population, earning us the dubious distinction of having the second-highest incarceration rate in the country. As the number of people Mississippi incarcerates has increased, so has the state prison budget.

The ever-expanding budget allocated to prisons, however, has not translated into safer communities, in part because so many of the people we send to jail are nonviolent offenders. In 2012, three out of every four people sent to a Mississippi prison were sentenced for nonviolent offenses. It’s clear that our state spends too much money keeping too many people in jail.

That’s why Gov. Phil Bryant recently signed legislation designed to increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system and reduce costs. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely the state will reach these laudable goals unless we simultaneously address another critical part of the justice system: the resources provided to public defenders, the lawyers responsible for representing people accused of a crime who cannot afford an attorney.

The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to an attorney, but it’s up to each state to establish a public defense system that passes constitutional muster. Mississippi lacks a coordinated system for delivering public defense services to its citizens. Instead, each county in the state must develop its own system. The result is a haphazard patchwork of county arrangements that vary greatly in efficiency and effectiveness. Funding for these county-based systems varies widely, too, which means that the fairness of a trial can depend on whether an alleged crime occurred on one side of a county line or the other.

The governor’s well-intentioned reforms are at risk of failure. Reforms that seek to allow more flexibility in sentencing (for example, establishing treatment programs rather than mandatory prison time for military veterans who may be suffering from traumatic brain injury) will only be successful if the public defenders advocating on behalf of the accused are well coordinated, trained and funded.

Bryant recognizes that this reform bill means more work for Mississippi prosecutors, which is why he pushed lawmakers to increase the number of assistant district attorneys. However, the same support was not provided to public defenders.

Among other things, a statewide system would help ensure that all public defenders in Mississippi receive the training necessary to do their jobs well. “Gideon’s Army,” an award-winning HBO documentary, shows us how important training is. The film features June Hardwick — a former Mississippi public defender and now a municipal court judge in Jackson — and her fellow attorneys, offering us a glimpse into the work of public defenders and how adequate training can literally change lives.

“Gideon’s Army” will be shown at the Natchez Convention Center on Thursday at 6 p.m. A panel discussion including Hardwick; Shawna Geiger, training director at Colorado Alternate Defense Counsel; and Carol White-Richard, public defender in Sunflower County, will follow.

Leslie Lee is the state public defender for Mississippi.