In the 11 years since the Defender Association of Philadelphia began to represent clients facing murder charges, it has compiled an enviable record: Not one of its 994 clients has been sent to death row. (During the same time, scores of defendants in Philadelphia represented by appointed private attorneys have been sentenced to death.) “It stands out as something that is not matched anywhere else,” said David J. Carroll of the National Legal Aid and Defender Service. The Defender Association of Philadelphia, a non-profit corporation financed by the city, has a homicide unit comprised of 11 attorneys who represent a fifth of the city’s indigent murder defendants using an annual budget of $2 million. Each capital defendant is assigned two attorneys, one to handle the guilt phase of the trial and one to handle the sentencing phase should the defendant be found guilty. Investigators, social workers, and mitigating experts are all part of the Association’s staff, and capital defense attorneys have the ability to hire knowledgeable outside experts. “What they’ve done is develop a model for capital defense, which really should be done across the country,” said attorney David Rudovsky, who sits on the Defender Association’s Board of Directors and believes the Philadelphia team’s all-encompassing approach should be implemented in all 38 death penalty states. Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner, the Association’s chief defender from 1975-1990, said, “Their representation, including not only the quality of their lawyers, but the totality of services they offer – is at least as good as the best private representation that money can buy.” (Philadelphia Inquirer, May 25, 2005) See Representation.