# The Human Cost Of Our Broken Justice System

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-jabot-1141212/the-human-cost-of-our-broken-justice-system
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-jabot-1141212/the-human-cost-of-our-broken-justice-system.md
Podcast: [The Jabot](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-jabot-1141212)
Published: 2026-02-27T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://atlthejabot.libsyn.com/the-human-cost-of-our-broken-justice-system
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/atlthejabot/JAB216_mixdown.mp3?dest-id=655403
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-jabot-1141212/episodes/the-human-cost-of-our-broken-justice-system
Duration seconds: 1601

## Resource

Episode Summary In this episode of The Jabot Podcast, host Kathryn Rubino sits down with public defender, reform advocate, and author Emily Galvin Almanza to discuss her new book The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Broken System, and a Public Defender's Search for Justice in America. Emily shares her unexpected path into law, her deep commitment to criminal defense, and the emotional realities of representing clients navigating one of the most consequential systems in American society. Drawing from years in public defense and her work co-founding Partners for Justice, she explains why the criminal legal system often punishes instability rather than crime — and how policy choices, not individual morality, frequently determine who enters the system. The conversation explores burnout among defenders, systemic misconceptions about criminal courts, the role of compassion in policy reform, and the economic and social costs of incarceration. Ultimately, the episode reframes justice not as punishment, but as a question of public safety, community stability, and human dignity. Links & Resources emilygalvinalmanza.com Keywords Public defense Criminal justice reform The Price of Mercy Emily Galvin Almanza Public defender experience Mass incarceration Justice system reform Holistic defense model Legal burnout Court system inequality Compassion in policy Criminal legal system Wrongful convictions Socioeconomic inequality Recidivism data Legal advocacy Community safety policy Justice and economics Legal storytelling Human-centered justice Episode Highlights 00:05–02:17 - Emily's accidental journey into law school and discovering criminal law 02:17–04:19 - Finding purpose through public defense and helping clients "come home" 04:19–05:55 - Why passion for clients sustains lawyers th…

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