Two former client advocates for the Hinds County Public Defender’s Office urged the Hinds County Board of Supervisors to approve roughly $1 million in funding to stabilize the office and address crushing caseloads, they said.
The advocates, who concluded a two-year fellowship with the office, told Mississippi Today they connected 274 clients with 366 services, including food banks and transitional housing, and helped clients access medical and dental care. They said that work reduced the likelihood of future crime and helped clients remain in their communities.
They said the board earlier this year voted to award $261,000 in surplus funds for salary increases but that the amount falls well short of the roughly $1 million needed to achieve pay parity and hire additional attorneys, investigators and legal secretaries. The advocates said assistant public defenders make more than $50,000 less, on average, than prosecutors in the county.
The advocates said caseloads worsened in 2025 after a fifth circuit courtroom was added without adding defenders. They warned that under-resourcing leads to burnout, longer case delays, and more crowded jails, and said the Raymond Detention Center is already strained “beyond humane capacity.” They also cited research showing that prolonged pretrial detention can increase future crime.
The advocates encouraged the board to approve Chief Defender Gail Wright Lowery’s full budget request when it considers the public defender’s budget next month. The two writers identified themselves as Shanai Watson and Hannah Williams; Watson said she will attend Harvard Law School in the fall, and Williams plans to pursue a master’s at New York University’s Wagner School as a Bloomberg public service fellow.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
