National Speaker & Media Expert Guide

The HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER is an internationally recognized civil rights advocacy organization
headquartered in Palm Beach County, Florida. HRDC’s headquarters is within driving distance of numerous
media hubs including Miami, Fort Lauderdale & West Palm Beach.
Founded in 1990, the HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENSE CENTER currently distributes around 50 different criminal justice,
legal and self-help titles, and continues to publish Prison Legal News, which has become a 72-page monthly
publication with subscribers in all 50 states and internationally. Prison Legal News is the largest collection of
criminal justice-related articles and publications on the internet.

www.humanrightsdefensecenter.org
www.prisonlegalnews.org
HRDC	
  staff	
  is	
  available	
  for	
  interviews	
  in	
  Spanish,	
  Japanese	
  &	
  Shona.	
  
	
  

The	
  HRDC	
  has	
  experts	
  available	
  on	
  several	
  issues:	
  
	
  
	
  
• Immigration	
  Issues	
  
• Freedom	
  of	
  Information	
  Laws	
  /	
  Public	
  Records	
  
• Prisoners’	
  Rights	
  
Statutes	
  
• Border	
  Issues	
  /	
  Refugees	
  
• Government	
  Transparency	
  
• Police	
  Conduct	
  /	
  Accountability	
  
• Mass	
  Incarceration	
  
• Law	
  Enforcement	
  Use	
  of	
  Force	
  
• Sentencing	
  /	
  Death	
  Penalty	
  
• Criminal	
  Justice	
  Issues	
  
• Private	
  Prison	
  Operations	
  
	
  
	
  
To schedule an interview call the HRDC: t: 561-360-2523 After hours: 802-275-8594

The Human Rights Defense Center has served as a national expert
on numerous issues for over two decades and has been quoted
hundreds of times in many of the nation’s leading media outlets:

…and over 100 additional local print and broadcast news outlets
across the United States.
To schedule an interview call the HRDC:

t: 561-360-2523

After hours: 802-275-8594

	
  

	
  

National Campaigns by the Human Rights Defense Center
Campaign for Prison Phone Justice:
Cofounded by HRDC in 2011, the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice works to reduce the
historically exorbitant costs of phone calls made from prisons and jails -- costs that are
overwhelmingly borne by prisoners' family members and friends, not by prisoners. HRDC is the
leading authority in the nation on prison phone-related issues and the exploitive prison phone
industry. HRDC staff have testified before the FCC and have filed dozens of formal comments
on the FCC's docket related to prison phone issues, in addition to working at the state
level. Prison Legal News, HRDC's monthly publication, has run two extensive cover stories on the
prison phone industry, including 50-state surveys of phone rates and "commission" kickbacks.
www.prisonphonejustice.org / www.phonejustice.org

Stop Prison Profiteering campaign:
HRDC runs the Stop Prison Profiteering campaign to challenge the ruthless monetization of
services in prisons and jails that impact prisoners and their families. Such services include money
transfers, video visitation, secure email, tablets, release debit cards and other fee-based
services provided by for-profit companies, often through monopoly contracts that provide
"commission" kickbacks to corrections agencies. This cost-shifting to prisoners and their family
members puts an even larger financial burden on people enmeshed in our criminal justice
system who are least able to afford it.
www.stopprisonprofiteering.org

Prison	
  Ecology	
  Project:	
  	
  
	
  
The	
  Prison	
  Ecology	
  Project	
  examines	
  the	
  intersection	
  of	
  environmental	
  justice,	
  social	
  justice	
  and	
  
criminal	
  justice,	
  by	
  researching	
  and	
  exposing	
  the	
  impact	
  of	
  correctional	
  facilities	
  on	
  the	
  environment	
  
and	
  local	
  communities,	
  and	
  the	
  impact	
  of	
  the	
  environment	
  on	
  prisons	
  and	
  those	
  who	
  reside	
  and	
  work	
  
in	
  them.	
  For	
  example,	
  wastewater	
  (sewer)	
  discharges	
  from	
  prisons	
  and	
  jails	
  add	
  to	
  environmental	
  
pollution	
  and	
  impact local waterways, while arsenic-contaminated water systems near prisons
impact prisoners’ who have no other choice but to drink and bathe in the contaminated
water. Flooding, siting prisons and jails on former landfills, and contamination from nearby coal
mining operations are other environmental factors that impact prisons and prisoners.
www.prisonecology.org

To schedule an interview call the HRDC:

t: 561-360-2523

After hours: 802-275-8594

	
  
	
  

	
   can	
  help	
  you	
  with	
  stories	
  regarding:	
  
Paul	
  
	
   	
  
	
  • Immigration	
  Issues	
  
	
  • Prisoners’	
  Rights	
  
	
  • Border	
  Issues	
  /	
  Refugees	
  
	
  • Police	
  Conduct	
  /	
  Accountability	
  
	
  • Law	
  Enforcement	
  Use	
  of	
  Force	
  
	
  • Criminal	
  Justice	
  Issues	
  
	
  
• Government	
  Transparency	
  
	
  
• Freedom	
  of	
  Information	
  Laws	
  /	
  
	
  
Public	
  Records	
  Statutes	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  

	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  

To schedule an interview call the HRDC:

HRDC Executive Director
Paul Wright
Paul Wright is the founder and Executive
Director of the Human Rights Defense
Center.
He is also editor of Prison Legal News (PLN),
the longest-running independent prisoner
rights publication in U.S. history. He has coauthored three PLN anthologies: The Celling
of America: An Inside Look at the U.S. Prison
Industry (Common Courage, 1998); Prison
Nation: The Warehousing of America’s Poor
(Routledge, 2003); and Prison Profiteers:
Who Makes Money from Mass
Imprisonment (New Press, 2008).
His articles have appeared in over 80
publications, ranging from Counterpunch
to USA Today. A former prisoner, Paul was
imprisoned for 17 years in Washington state
until his release in 2003. During and since his
incarceration he has successfully litigated a
wide variety of censorship and public
records cases against prison systems
around the country, both as a pro se
plaintiff and on behalf of PLN.
Paul is a former military policeman, a
graduate of the University of Maryland with
a degree in Soviet History, and the former
National Lawyers Guild Jailhouse Lawyer
co-vice president (1995-2008). He is a 2005
Petra Fellow, the Freedom Fighter of the
Month for High Times magazine in July 2006,
a 2007 recipient of the James Madison
Award from the Washington Coalition for
Open Government, the 2008 inaugural
recipient of the National Lawyers Guild's
Arthur Kinoy award, and a 2011 recipient of
the Distinguished Public Interest Service
Award from the City of New York Law
School.
	
  
t: 561-360-2523 After hours: 802-275-8594

	
  

	
  

Staff Attorney
Daniel Marshall
Daniel Marshall is an expert in criminal law,
having defended over a thousand criminal
cases, including dozens of jury trials.
He is Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law by
the Florida Bar – a distinction held by only
7% of all Florida Bar members. Dan has
focused his legal career advocating for
criminal justice reform and its impact on
prisoners, their families and the community.
He has lectured on numerous issues,
including Florida’s “Stand your Ground”
law, medical marijuana and issues
concerning the elderly and criminal law, as
well giving presentations in a number of
schools in the community.

Daniel	
  can	
  help	
  you	
  with	
  stories	
  
regarding:	
  
	
  
• Prisoners’	
  Rights	
  
• Police	
  Conduct	
  /	
  Accountability	
  
• Law	
  Enforcement	
  Use	
  of	
  Force	
  
• Criminal	
  Justice	
  Issues	
  
• Government	
  Transparency	
  
• Freedom	
  of	
  Information	
  Laws	
  /	
  
Public	
  Records	
  Statutes	
  
	
  

After earning his J.D. degree from the
University of Connecticut School of Law,
Dan worked at the Office of the Public
Defender in West Palm Beach, Florida for
nearly nine years handling felonies,
misdemeanors, juvenile delinquency and
appellate cases. He was the Division Chief
of a felony division for several years before
becoming the County Court Resource
Director, in charge of training more than
two dozen new attorneys in the office.
Dan is admitted to practice in all Florida
state courts, as well as the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of Florida. He is also
a member of the Florida Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National
Police Accountability Project. In a prior life,
Dan worked as a spacecraft engineer at
the Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, MD.

To schedule an interview call the HRDC:

t: 561-360-2523

After hours: 802-275-8594

	
  
	
  	
  

About	
  the	
  Human	
  Rights	
  Defense	
  Center	
  
	
  

P.O. Box 1151
Lake Worth, FL 33460
Phone: 561-360-2523
Fax: 866-735-7136

Prepared by:
My PR Guru, LLC
11419 W. Palmetto Park Road #971402
Boca Raton - Florida - 33497

The	
  Human	
  Rights	
  Defense	
  Center	
  is	
  a	
  501(c)(3)	
  non-­‐profit	
  
organization	
  that	
  advocates	
  on	
  behalf	
  of	
  the	
  human	
  rights	
  of	
  
people	
  held	
  in	
  U.S.	
  detention	
  facilities.	
  This	
  includes	
  people	
  in	
  
state	
  and	
  federal	
  prisons,	
  local	
  jails,	
  immigration	
  detention	
  
centers,	
  civil	
  commitment	
  facilities,	
  Bureau	
  of	
  Indian	
  Affairs	
  
jails,	
  juvenile	
  facilities	
  and	
  military	
  prisons.	
  HRDC	
  is	
  one	
  of	
  the	
  
few	
  national	
  opponents	
  to	
  the	
  private	
  prison	
  industry	
  and	
  is	
  
the	
  foremost	
  advocate	
  on	
  behalf	
  of	
  the	
  free	
  speech	
  rights	
  of	
  
publishers	
  to	
  communicate	
  with	
  prisoners	
  and	
  the	
  right	
  of	
  
prisoners	
  to	
  receive	
  publications	
  and	
  communications	
  from	
  
outside	
  sources.	
  HRDC	
  also	
  does	
  significant	
  work	
  around	
  
government	
  transparency	
  and	
  accountability	
  issues	
  by	
  filing	
  
and	
  litigating	
  public	
  records	
  and	
  Freedom	
  of	
  Information	
  Act	
  
requests	
  at	
  the	
  state	
  and	
  federal	
  levels.	
  
	
  
HRDC's	
  advocacy	
  efforts	
  include	
  publishing	
  Prison	
  Legal	
  News,	
  
a	
  monthly	
  publication	
  that	
  covers	
  criminal	
  justice-­‐related	
  news	
  
and	
  litigation	
  nationwide.	
  HRDC	
  publishes	
  and	
  distributes	
  self-­‐
help	
  reference	
  books	
  for	
  prisoners,	
  and	
  engages	
  in	
  litigation,	
  
media	
  campaigns	
  and	
  outreach,	
  public	
  speaking	
  and	
  education,	
  
and	
  testimony	
  before	
  legislative	
  and	
  regulatory	
  bodies.