About The Defendant
The Defendant is a not-for-profit organization that was launched from our kitchen table, in the middle of a pandemic, with a new baby – we hope you will join us as we take our very first steps on this journey!
Our project will provide practical and emotional support to defendants struggling to navigate the criminal justice system, via a website and a helpline. Now more than ever, accused people need information about procedure and timelines and they need mental health support. Solicitors and barristers simply do not have the resources to provide the emotional support a defendant needs. There is a lot of information that people accused of crimes don’t know, and need to know. This website is the first step of our campaign to fight for defendants’ rights to support, followed by a helpline to deliver the information that the accused need to know from the moment an investigation starts, to the end of their trial.
This is not just about people knowing where they stand, how long their lives will be on hold and providing mental health support; knowing the due processes that should be followed will mean that abuses of power are more recognisable. The criminal justice system does make mistakes, especially now with underfunding and delays so widespread. When there is so much discussion about mental health, the questions remain: why is there no support for defendants’ mental health? Why is there no provision for defendants to find out information about what they can really expect from being accused of a criminal offence, whether it goes to trial or it’s dropped? The case may be closed but there is no closure for the defendant. This trauma stays with individuals for life.
Everyone says it, but in our case it’s true: our team is the secret to our success.
info@thedefendant.org.uk
Support
support@thedefendant.org.uk
Location
City of London
Get In Touch
We would love to hear from you!
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to leave feedback, get in involved, or just talk. If you wish to remain anonymous you can leave the name and email field blank, however please know that without an email address we will not able to get back to you.