Newsmaker: San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi
Here’s a staggering statistic—70% of the inmates released from California prisons wind up right back behind bars. That’s a large part of the reason the state’s prisons are overcrowded. The transition from inmate to citizen is not an easy one…..That’s why San Francisco has formed a safe community reentry council. The program is the first of its kind in the nation. And, the idea is to coordinate efforts to help former inmates re-integrate to society. The council is really the brainchild of San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi…and several elected officials have joined forces to make it happen…including…District Attorney Kamala Harris, Sheriff Mike Hennessey, School Board president Mark Sanchez, and Public Defender Jeff Adachi. To get the broader community involved, next Monday the council will host a Reentry Summit for former prisoners. KALW’s Ben Trefny sat down with San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi and asked him what’s the key to stopping recidivism.