Throughout the year the Project organizes informational meetings for members of civil law firms to learn about the need for their assistance as volunteer counsel in death penalty cases.
The Project is delighted to announce that it has now partnered with the ACTL Access to Justice Committee to place several death penalty cases with its excellent Fellows.
With funding from the ABA Section of Litigation, the Project has launched a new initiative to address long standing systemic problems affecting the quality and availability of counsel for capital trial defendants and death row prisoners seeking post-conviction relief.
The Spring 2008 issue of the Hofstra Law Review focuses on the importance of developing mitigation evidence in a capital case and the unique role and skills of mitigation specialists, who are essential members of every capital defense team.
Morrison & Foerster LLP has been a friend to the Project and to the men and women on death row for many years. But in the past few months we have called on him and his firm to help with two tough cases that are deserving of special recognition.
In Maricopa County, Arizona, a man on death row is in need of volunteer counsel for his state post-conviction proceedings. Since the Arizona Supreme Court issued its mandate in 2006, the client has been unrepresented by counsel.
Although Mississippi does have an office of post-conviction counsel, the reality of a small staff and inadequate funding means that attorneys in the office are overwhelmed trying to represent the many men and women on death row who need counsel.