But he seems like an odd person [1] and I wonder what might be atypical about his experiences? It would be interesting to read the experiences of other public defenders. It’s their job to look for problems.
[1] https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4rsRuNaE4uJrnYeTQ/defunding-...
Regardless of any public defender's opinion, I am inclined to not fully respect opinions of people who are deeply embedded in the thing they have an opinion about, especially if it's in defense of the thing they're deeply embedded in. Humans lose perspective very easily, and especially when their identity is wrapped up in it.
Yes, it's possible that insiders might have a biased view. However, in general, I do respect the opinions of people who have had experiences and write about them more than the comments of random internet strangers who, as far as I know, have no experience.