Stephen Bright, Executive Director of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR), has been named Newsmaker of the Year by the Fulton County Daily Report for his ​“unre­lent­ing efforts over the years to expose Georgia’s short­falls in indi­gent defense.” Bright has worked in Georgia for more than 25 years. During that time, he has rep­re­sent­ed count­less indi­gent defen­dants, many of whom have been on Georgia’s death row, and he has led the Southern Center’s fight to pro­vide legal rep­re­sen­ta­tion to those who are less for­tu­nate. According to the paper, in large part because of Bright’s work to expose the state’s sys­temic flaws, ​“start­ing in 2005, every Georgia judi­cial cir­cuit will have a pub­lic defend­er office pro­vid­ing rep­re­sen­ta­tion to the poor, pre­sum­ably end­ing a sys­tem that left Georgia with a 2‑tier legal sys­tem — one for the poor, and one for those who could afford to pay lawyers.” (Fulton County Daily Report, December 3, 2003) See Southern Center for Human Rights. See DPIC’s report on rep­re­sen­ta­tion.

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