In this episode of The Jabot Podcast, I sit down with public defender, reform advocate, and author Emily Galvin Almanza to discuss her new book The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender’s Search for Justice in America.
Emily shares her unexpected path into law, her deep commitment to criminal defense, and the emotional realities of representing clients navigating one of the most consequential systems in American society. Drawing from years in public defense and her work co-founding Partners for Justice, she explains why the criminal legal system often punishes instability rather than crime — and how policy choices, not individual morality, frequently determine who enters the system.
The conversation explores burnout among defenders, systemic misconceptions about criminal courts, the role of compassion in policy reform, and the economic and social costs of incarceration. Ultimately, the episode reframes justice not as punishment, but as a question of public safety, community stability, and human dignity.
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