Monica Denise Shepard

Monica Shepard was provided by Warrenton, Missouri to be my public defender in 2018. At that time I was in relapse from a drug addiction that I had been clean from for 8 years prior to my separation. after a long, heart breaking, volatile divorce from my daughter's father I succumbed to my former met...hod of dealing with pain and suffering and spiraled down to what winded up being the worst time in my life to date. I am not originally from Missouri and was trying to navigate through my divorce without my family, or lifelong friends who were, and still are, my greatest source of support. I felt so alone during one of my life's difficult moments that I'm sure we have all faced at some time in some way, shape, or form. Fast forward to 2018 when I was told who my public defender would be. Just to let you know that before I met Monica I considered myself doomed, because I couldn't afford a "real" attorney, and was basing my opinion and dread from previous experience with having to use a public defender who was clearly overwhelmed, over worked, and exasperated just trying to keep up with his caseload. I was scared, without hope, and had already given up on justice, not to mention myself. But God. Our first meeting was a surprise to me. She wanted to know what, if anything, was as it was presented in the police report. She asked me for my version of what happened, and took her time listening and actually took notes. She took as long as it needed, didn’t seem uninterested, and most importantly I felt like she believed me. Which changed my entire outlook on my life at that time, and gave me a little bit of hope back, a desire to be clean and sober again, and the courage to reach out to my parents in Florida and ask them to help me and to please forgive me. Which they did. A lot has transpired since then, but I am proud to say that I just celebrated 5 years of sobriety, and Monica Shepard is still my PD. We are getting ready for a jury trial that has been looming over me since then, but I am ready. I have faith in God, and in Monica, and I believe that a jury will not convict me of the charges that I have been accused of, but my trust is in God, not man, so I will be fine. I just wanted to acknowledge that my life was changed in a good and meaningful way by this attorney who took the time to listen, and fight for me, even before I was able to fight for myself. God works in mysterious ways, sometimes even through attorneys. Lol. With that being said I would highly recommend hiring Ms. Shepard. Having known her for a few years now, and my parents having to sometimes communicate for us, I found out she is a woman who loves and trusts Jesus too. She has actually prayed with my mother over the phone, and for me that puts the icing on the cake.