Justice Defenders (formerly African Prisons Project, or APP) is a registered UK charity and U.S. nonprofit working in prison communities across Africa. Through legal education, training, and practice, Justice Defenders equips prisoners and prison officers to facilitate legal processes. It establishes law practices within prisons, provides free services, and runs legal awareness clinics for prisoners. And in partnership with academic institutions, it tutors and facilitates law degrees for prisoners and prison officers. Justice Defenders was founded in 2007 by the British activist Alexander McLean , who is currently the director.
8-533: In 2004, Alexander McLean was volunteering at the Mulago hospital in Kampala , Uganda , where he worked with a group of prisoners from Luzira Upper Prison. McLean observed that prison inmates were chained to their beds, with no opportunity for sanitation and no proper medical care. Despite being terminally ill, many patients were left unsupervised. McLean visited the prison during his stay. He purchased materials to renovate
16-576: A library at Luzira Upper Prison, for the purpose of bringing education about the law to prison inmates. This event marked the beginning of Justice Defenders. Today, McLean is a member of the Tearfund Inspired Individuals Programme, along with Kelvin Mwikya . Justice Defenders is a UK charity and registered NGO with permanent bases in Kampala and Nairobi . The Justice Defenders community consists of local full-time staff members and
24-575: A scholarship. At a young age, he became fascinated with social issues and the criminal justice system. In his teens, he worked for a quadriplegic who suffered from multiple sclerosis and volunteered at a hospice. After high school, McLean visited Uganda to volunteer as a hospice worker at the Mulago hospital in Kampala. There, he was motivated to start Justice Defenders in 2007 after observing that prison inmates were not given proper medical care and seeing
32-594: A small group of permanent volunteers in the UK. Education: In partnership with academic institutions, such as the University of London, Justice Defenders tutors and facilitates law degrees for prison communities. In recent University of London law exams, Justice Defenders students scored a 91% pass rate. Training: Justice Defenders equips prisoners and prison staff to become auxiliary paralegals. It also provides professional development opportunities for prison officers, members of
40-629: Is a British activist, humanitarian, and lawyer. He is the founder of Justice Defenders (formerly African Prisons Project, or APP), which is based in Uganda and seeks to improve the lives of people imprisoned in Africa . McLean was born in 1985 and grew up in the "southern outskirts of London." His father is Jamaican and worked as a retired tool maker while his mother was from Surrey and worked for United Airways. He has an older brother and sister. McLean attended Kingston Grammar School , having been awarded
48-566: The conditions at Luzira Upper Prison. After coming back to the United Kingdom, McLean fund-raised to provide good health facilities and educate inmates in Ugandan prisons about the law, beginning the organization. McLean attended the University of Nottingham , graduating in 2007. He was the first in his family to earn a university degree. After graduation, he moved to Kampala , where he created
56-718: The judiciary, and allied professions. Through this UK secondment programme – in partnership with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission – Justice Defenders selects prison staff and builds their capacity via training, networking, and leadership skills. Practice: Justice Defenders establishes law practices within prisons, provides free services, and runs legal awareness clinics for prisoners. It equips prisoners to represent themselves and each other in court procedures. Justice Defenders and founder Alexander McLean have won several high-profile awards. Alexander McLean (activist) Alexander McLean (born 1985)
64-454: The prison's infirmary, and with the support of the prison authorities, supervised the prisoners while they renovated their own infirmary. One of the questions McLean posed to the inmates was about their needs, to which he observed an expressed desire for education. McLean returned to the UK where he fundraised and collected books to provide healthcare facilities to prisons in Uganda and to establish
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