Still She Rises in Tulsa is the first public defender office in the country dedicated exclusively to the representation of mothers in the criminal justice system.
Among other goals, Still She Rises seeks to reduce jail time and increase the number of non-incarceratory sentences that women with children serve in order to minimize the harmful long-term effects of incarceration on women and families. It also seeks to defend mothers involved in the criminal justice system against the painful and unnecessary removal of their children and the potential dissolution of their families.
Our speaker, Ruth Hamilton has worked as a public defender for the Bronx Defenders in New York City and as the Legal Director of Still She Rises.