Founded by Jelani Anglin, Good Call is a tech hybrid taking on mass incarceration in the U.S. by providing early access to legal support. Though currently only 1% of people have access to counsel at the point of arrest, Good Call’s free hotline service connects arrestees to a free attorney and can also update family members on their situation. Here, Jelani tells Ashoka’s Simon Stumpf why early contact with an attorney is critical and discusses how tech can help dismantle the prison-industrial complex.
Simon Stumpf: Take us back to the beginning of your work, Jelani. What did you see that others didn’t?
Jelani Anglin: I was