On Tuesday, April 7, our Hays County Commission has a special opportunity to approve a grant application for the creation of a Public Defender’s office, ensuring adequate legal representation for low-income residents.
As a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, I first studied the criminal justice system in 2013 while a voting member for our churchwide, national assembly.
There, we officially approved a social statement, a key statement of which reads “Drawing from biblical witness to God’s rich forms of love and justice for all people, the ELCA is compelled by a holy yearning to address the need for changing public attitudes and postures, and to call for dramatic reforms in policies and practices in the criminal justice system.”
