344 | When Public Defenders Support Community Organizing, Community will Organize to Support Public Defense w/Heather Lewis

Today, Hunter sat down with Heather Lewis a participatory defense organizer and the Executive Director of the Reuniting Family Bail Fund. Unlike many places where participatory defense hubs have been set up, Montgomery County Public Defenders welcomed participatory defense with open arms. Today, we will see the benefit of having an activated community when policy makers retaliate against public defenders.   Guest Heather Lewis, Reuniting Family Bail Fund, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania   Resources:   Reuniting Family Bail Fund Websites and Socials https://bailfundmontco.org/ https://www.youtube.com/@reunitingfamilybailfund https://www.instagram.com/familybailfund/ https://x.com/familybailfund https://www.facebook.com/reunitingfamilybailfund Coverage of Retaliation Against Montgomery County Public Defenders https://www.inquirer.com/news/montgomery-county-public-defenders-fired-lawsuit-keisha-hudson-dean-beer-20200318.html#:~:text=Fired%20public%20defenders%20sue%2C%20alleging%20Montgomery%20County%20retaliated%20for%20bail%20practice%20criticism. https://www.inquirer.com/news/montgomery-county-public-defenders-commissioners-protest-dean-beer-keisha-hudson-20200305.html https://theappeal.org/pennsylvania-public-defenders-not-reinstated-despite-public-outcry-over-firing/#:~:text=Montgomery%20County%20Chief%20Public%20Defender,Photo%20courtesy%20of%20ACLU%20Pennsylvania. https://www.aclupa.org/en/press-releases/aclu-pa-statement-response-dismissal-montgomery-county-chief-and-deputy-public     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 [email protected]  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home