Gideon's Promise

Maryland has taken an important step toward a more just approach to youth justice.

The Youth Charging Reform Act reduces the number of offenses that can automatically place children in the adult criminal legal system, reflecting years of advocacy from public defenders, impacted families, community leaders, and justice reform advocates.

At its core, this reform recognizes a truth that defenders see every day: children are more than the charges filed against them, and decisions about their future should be guided by fairness, evidence, and humanity.
While important work remains, this legislation reflects ongoing efforts to build a more just legal system for young people and their communities.

Pride Month is a reminder that dignity is not something people should have to leave behind when they encounter the criminal legal system.

LGBTQ+ people experience that system in distinct and often compounded ways, from arrest to incarceration and beyond, shaped by discrimination, housing instability, and lack of stable support.

Even in the face of those realities, there is resilience. There is community. There is the ongoing insistence on being seen and treated with dignity.

Pride is about that dignity, too.

Public defense exists in this space to ensure that every person’s rights are protected and that dignity is preserved at every stage of the process.

Because of this incredible community, we surpassed our fundraising goal last night at A Night to Celebrate.
We are deeply grateful to every supporter helping Gideon’s Promise invest in public defenders and the clients and communities they serve every day.

Grateful to be part of 'The South and the Next 250' this week with The Just Trust & The Marshall Project.

Our co-founder, Jonathan Rapping , joined a powerful conversation on justice in the American South as our nation approaches its 250th anniversary.

The project centers stories and inequities too often left out of the national narrative—and asks us to think more critically about the future of justice in America.