On May 29, 2020, the San Francisco Chronicle published this article by Megan Cassidy about the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office client, Paul Redd, who was resentenced in San Francisco Superior Court and earned release after more than 44 years in prison. Mr. Redd was convicted at age 19 based on the testimony of a single co-defendant who got a plea deal, in a trial that lasted three days, by a jury that deliberated for an hour. Mr. Redd subsequently spent over 30 years in solitary confinement, including at Pelican Bay, where he became a plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit that altered the law and practice of solitary confinement in California. Mr. Redd, a hospice worker, is among several individuals that the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office post-conviction relief team has helped successfully petition for resentencing.
“Our office believes in the power of redemption,” said mano raju. “We also see, on a daily basis, the many factors that can lead to convictions or pleas that have little to do with a true and thorough analysis of the facts.”
