Emily has spent a decade fighting for clients as a public defender. And now, as an author, she brings the truth about America’s justice system to readers of every age.
The Books
The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, A Violent System, and a Public Defender’s Search for Justice in America
A former public defender takes us behind the closed doors of America's criminal courts, revealing how the institutions that claim to protect us are doing the exact opposite—and offering a blueprint for finally fixing it.
Andromeda Diaz and the Reasonable Doubt
In this twisty, propulsive mystery for kids a fearless fifth grader vows to help a classmate in danger of getting lost in the system.
Coming September 8, 2026
Meet
Emily
Emily Galvin Almanza is the co-founder and executive director of Partners for Justice, a nonprofit creating a new collaborative model of public defense designed to empower defenders nationwide. Prior to founding PFJ, Emily fought for clients inside the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office, the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office, and the Bronx Defenders, and with the Stanford Three Strikes Project. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Time, among other publications.
Praise for The Price of Mercy
“The Price of Mercy is a searing, compassionate, and utterly necessary book.”
—Michelle Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The New Jim Crow
“The Price of Mercy is a clear-eyed examination of the failures of the system, and a hopeful blueprint of how we can create something better.
—Josie Duffy Rice, journalist
“The Price of Mercy is an astonishing and moving achievement.
— Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-8), Ranking Member, U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Author of #1 New York Times Bestseller Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth and the Trials of American Democracy