He has spent most of his professional life in one place, defending others. While he will continue to defend others, a major career change is sending him into one of the world's most volatile regions. Alachua County Public Defender Rick Parker is retiring from office effective at the end of November. He has served for almost 27 years as the 8th Circuit Public Defender handling many high profile cases including serial killer Danny Rolling's defense. Parker will soon travel across the world to Afghanistan working for a private company contracted by the State Department. He will help Afghan citizens with their emerging judicial system.

"The first step in the process was deciding I was going to do something different with my life. I was just ready," said Rick Parker.

Governor Charlie Crist will appoint an attorney to replace Parker until the 2012 presidential election. To see more on Parker's decision, watch the video to your right.