There was Brian McCutchen, the homeless man who tried to rape a little girl in a public library bathroom. And Germantown serial rapist Alexander Drain. And Solomon Montgomery, the convicted killer of police officer Gary Skerski.

Gillison, 51, said in an interview with the Daily News that this experience would guide him in his role as deputy mayor for public safety, a newly created position under Mayor Nutter.

The soft-spoken lawyer said his long years as a defender mean he understands the many wrinkles of the criminal-justice system and the struggles of those who end up there.

"I have spent the majority of my adult life as a social worker or as an attorney representing these people," said Gillison, a lifelong Philadelphian. "We went through this whole bit of 'just lock everybody up' . . . but I always thought those people were our kids."

At the heart of Nutter's campaign was his pledge to reduce violent crime. He's hired a nationally renowned police commissioner who today releases a new crime plan.

But Nutter said he needed better oversight of the entire criminal-justice system. He wanted cooperation among police, judges and prisons. He wanted someone to analyze the big picture and develop new strategies for problems like youth violence and convicts' re-entry into society after prison.

That's where Gillison comes in.

"He knows the trials and tribulations of people who have definitely made mistakes. He knows the trials and tribulations of the criminal-justice system," Nutter said. "For me it was: 'Who else but Everett Gillison?' "

Officially, Gillison will coordinate the city's criminal-justice departments, including the police, fire department, prisons and re-entry, as well as the independent branches of the system such as the District Attorney's office, the courts and probation.

He is charged with improving communication among the departments, developing programs and seeking funding sources. He said he would be involved in setting up a 311 non-emergency call line, enlarging the city's network of surveillance cameras and expanding the Youth Violence Reduction Program - all Nutter campaign promises.

Not everyone is happy about the appointment. John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, has bashed Nutter for choosing a man who defended a cop-killer.

"We believe this appointment sends the wrong message to the citizens of this city, especially in the climate that exists today, that our police officers witness first hand on a daily basis," said McNesby in a letter to union members dated Jan. 3.

McNesby declined to be interviewed for this article.

Gillison said he was surprised by the outcry.

"I didn't really understand what they were criticizing," Gillison said. "I've worked with the police department and the District Attorney's office my entire life. As a public defender, I do my job."

Daniel R. Stevenson, a longtime colleague in the Defender Association of Philadelphia, said many cops had told him they disagreed with the FOP message. Stevenson said it was off-base.

"You're not going to meet a fairer-minded man," he said.

Gillison has not yet met with McNesby, but he plans to as he makes the rounds of key officials. Gillison's been so busy in his first few weeks that his office is still bare and he's come down with a nasty cold.

He said his first priority was setting up a Criminal Justice Advisory Board, or CJAB, which will include leaders from all criminal-justice arms including the D.A. and the police commissioner. These players met before, but not as regularly, Gillison said. He plans to look at similar boards elsewhere, to see what structure would best suit Philadelphia.

Nutter was optimistic that the agencies would pull together.

"I think, given the state of affairs in Philadelphia - the crime emergency, the high public awareness - people are feeling compelled that we do need to keep working together," he said.

Beyond that, Gillison is looking for projects that will help reduce violence in Philadelphia in the long term. He spoke about enhancing re-entry programs and expanding the number of community courts to handle smaller offenses.

Gillison, who lives in West Philadelphia with his wife and two teenage daughters, said he considered his work a type of social ministry. Since his childhood in West Philadelphia, his schoolteacher mom encouraged him to give back.

"I saw a lot of violence and did not want to go that way," Gillison said. "You can make a decision in your life to reap what you sow."

Gillison said his mother worked hard to keep him and his two sisters out of trouble. He attended public schools and then the University of Pennsylvania, where he was drawn to social work.

He began volunteering for the Defender Association, taking a job there as a caseworker after he graduated. After earning a law degree from Syracuse University, he returned to the Defender Association as a lawyer.

A deep faith has helped him weather the long years defending some of Philadelphia's worst criminals.

"There is no way that I would be able to do the work that I have done without my faith," said Gillison, an Episcopalian. "I have felt honored to do the work that I have done."