Gideon's Promise

Gideon’s Promise was founded as a nonprofit in 2007 by Jonathan Rapping and Ilham Askia to answer the need for training and mentorship for public defenders working in under-resourced communities in the South. Our organization envisions a new generation of client-centered public defenders that address structural, financial, and cultural challenges to create an equitable criminal justice system and a just society. Twice a year, we gather new lawyers, supervisors, chief defenders, trainers, and law students to participate in the clinical instruction led curriculum of Gideon’s Promise. Gideon’s Promise strengthens public defenders, who are the only line of defense for the vast majority of people charged with a crime in America – to provide them the defense they deserve and to help keep the promise of keeping
communities intact.