We have a vision to create a leading criminal justice reform organization with a team of attorneys, investigators, and social workers to provide the best possible direct representation in criminal cases to those most in need—while fighting for the rights and dignity of all such clients at a national level.

Our Executive Director Josh Stanton, previously served as a public defender in Memphis, Tennessee, where he stood against some of the worst abuses of power by prosecutors anywhere in the country. The District Attorney at the time was rated by Harvard Law School’s Fair Punishment Project as the “most overzealous prosecutor” anywhere in California, Louisiana, Missouri, or Tennessee. Nevertheless, Josh fought tooth and nail for the rights of his clients—winning in cases that others thought lost, and even achieving a federal court ruling finding the Shelby County bail system unconstitutional.

Since his time as a public defender, Josh has worked at major international law firms where he has successfully represented high-profile individuals in complex cases, and as a co-director of a clinic at Vanderbilt University Law School, teaching students best practices in defending indigent clients.