Where can I find help for my loved one
on death row?
I. SELF HELP
i) THE LAWYER'S JAILHOUSE MANUAL [download here] - To order a copy of the manual, click here
Very comprehensive, it is developed by the Columbia Law University. It is not intended as legal advice, however it contains very useful information on How to find a lawyer, Appealing your conviction or sentence, Prisoners' rights etc.
A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (JLM) is a handbook of legal rights and procedures designed for use by people in prison. The JLM informs prisoners of their legal rights and instructs them about how to secure these rights through the judicial process, clearly explaining legal research techniques and how to read legal documents. Prisoners may use the JLM to address specific problems related to their treatment in prison, or to attack their unfair convictions or sentences. To date, more than two hundred correctional facilities across the United States have ordered the JLM, in large part due to the Supreme Court's decision in Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817 (1977). Bounds requires states to provide prisoners with meaningful access to the judicial system, either through legal assistance programs or adequate law libraries. The JLM also includes a directory of legal and social services for prisoners around the country.
ii) REPRESENTING INDIVIDUALS FACING THE DEATH PENALTY: A BEST PRACTICES MANUAL [download pdf - 114p]
Although developed primarily for capital defence lawyers, it provides legal arguments and step by step strategic guidance in the representation of capital cases, setting forth the best practices in the defence of capital cases. It is written by Death Penalty Worldwide, a project affiliated with the Center for International Human Rights and the law firm of Frederikson & Byron.
iii) CAPITAL CASE HANDBOOK FOR DEFENDANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES [download pdf]
This is an in-depth tabloid covering everything from working with public defenders to understanding the appeals process for those accused of capital crimes to better navigate the legal system in the US
iv) ACLU PRISONERS' ASSISTANCE DIRECTORY [here]
It includes contact information, services, and descriptions of over 300 national, state, local, international organisations, that provide assistance to prisoners, ex offenders, and families of prisoners.
v) CALIFORNIA STATE PRISONERS HANDBOOK (FOR CALIFORNIA ONLY) [Get order form here]
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PRISON AND PAROLE LAW! The California State Prisoners Handbook is a unique and valuable resource for prisoners, and their attorneys and advocates. The Handbook discusses in detail the laws governing prisoner rights and the policies and practices of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The 1,100-page Fourth Edition (2008) also includes numerous sample forms and model pleadings!
vi) Foreign nationals
a) Bridging the Gap: Effective Representation of Foreign Nationals in U.S. Criminal Cases: Good pdf brochure from the International Justice Project (2007)
b) Training video for Consular Officials (2012, Emmanuelle Purdon for Reprieve)
c) If you are a foreign national with a specific European nationality (or nationality tie to Europe): Reprieve
vii) Investigating an innocence claim: Do it yourself
Read good practical article here explaining all the steps you need to take.
viii) AMNESTY CAMPAIGNING MANUAL [pdf here]
This manual is a reference book aiming to pass on the experience of 35 years of AI campaigning for the protection and promotion of human rights. Although this manual is primarily written for AI campaigners, it should be useful for all those involved in the movement and/or in other campaigning organizations.
ix) Clemency
1. Who Should You Contact when an execution date is given to ask for clemency - express any concern
Texas
- The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP): Has the authority to recommend clemencies and pardons to the Governor. Ask them to recommend clemency
. Governor Abbott: The Governor may grant a 30 day extension without the consent of the BPP. So even if the BPP doesn’t recommend clemency right away, Governor Abbott can postpone the execution for an additional month if he wants.
What is Clemency?
According to the BPP website, clemency includes “Full pardons after conviction, Conditional pardons, Pardons based on Innocence, Commutations of Sentence, Emergency medical reprieves, family medical reprieves, and, in cases of capital punishment, a commutation of sentence to a lesser penalty and a reprieve of execution.” BPP can recommend that the governor postpone an execution and reduce his sentence to something less severe than the death penalty. The BPP can also recommend a conditional pardon pending further DNA testing.
Phone Numbers
- Governor’s Office “Opinion Hotline”(This goes straight to his voice mail box): 512-463-1782
- Board of Pardons and Paroles,
- Clemency Section:512-406-5852
- Board of Pardons and Paroles, Central Office (W. 14thStreet): 512-936-6351
- Board of Pardons and Paroles, Huntsville Office(Board Presiding Officer Rissie Owens): 936-291-2161
- Board of Pardons and Paroles, Gatesville Office (Board Member David G. Gutierrez): 254-865-8870-
- Board of Pardons and Paroles, Amarillo Office(Board Member James LaFavers): 806-359-7656
- Board of Pardons and Paroles, Angleton Office(Board Member Cynthia Tauss): 979-849-3031
- Board of Pardons and Paroles, San Antonio Office (Board Member Juanita Gonzalez): 210-564-3721
- Board of Pardons and Paroles, Palestine Office (Board Member Michelle Skyrme): 903-723-1068
2. Clemency letters - Template attached: How to write a compelling clemency letter.
Usually, it is best to send the clemency letters at clemency stage to the counsel of the prisoner. Ask the counsel who to send the letters to exactly in your area.
| clemency_letter_template.pdf |
3. Urgent appeals
See example on how to send appeals with Amnesty International here
See example on how to send appeals with Amnesty International here
II. LEGAL ORGANISATIONS
THE INNOCENCE PROJECT
The Innocence Project is a non-profit legal clinic affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and created by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in 1992. The project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. As a clinic, law students handle case work while supervised by a team of attorneys and clinic staff. The Innocence Project was set up as and remains a nonprofit legal clinic. This project only handles cases where post-conviction DNA testing of evidence can yield conclusive proof of innocence. As a clinic, students handle the casework while supervised by a team of attorneys and clinic staff. Most of our clients are poor, forgotten, and have used up all of their legal avenues for relief. The hope they all have is that biological evidence from their cases still exists and can be subjected to DNA testing. All Innocence Project clients go through an extensive screening process to determine whether or not DNA testing of evidence could prove their claims of innocence. To find an Innocence Project in your state, click here
The Innocence Project is not equipped to handle case applications or inquiries by email or over the phone. All case submissions and follow-up correspondence will be handled by mail or overnight delivery services only. If you are seeking legal assistance, click here to read guidelines for submitting your case.
Innocence Project, 40 Worth St., Suite 701 New York, NY 10013 - [email protected] - T 212.364.5340 - Website: www.innocenceproject.org
Also: The Innocence Project Northwest Read more here
INVESTIGATING INNOCENCE
Our organization provides investigative services to indigent inmates, lawyers, and to members of the Innocence Network who seek to prove post-conviction claims of actual innocence. A 501 (c)(3) non-for-profit organization, we are supported by the dues of our members and through the generosity of our donors. Our members are devoted to freeing the innocent. TO REFER A CASE GO HERE
THE EXONERATION PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
The Exoneration Project handles cases for people seeking to prove their innocence. If you have a case that you would like the Exoneration Project to evaluate, please download our questionnaire here and return it by US mail to:
The Exoneration Project
312 N. May St., Ste. 100
Chicago, Illinois 60607
READ MORE
EQUAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE (FOR NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA)
Equal Justice Collaborative is a non-profit law firm committed to fairness in the criminal justice system.
We provide direct legal representation to indigent inmates in North and South Carolina. We also provide mitigation investigation services for clients facing harsh sentences. Our clients include adults facing death sentences and juveniles facing life without parole, among others.
The organization is supported by court fees and donations.
READ MORE
LEWISBURG PRISON PROJECT
PO Box 128, Lewisburg PA 17837 / Tel: (570) 523-1104 / E-mail: [email protected] / Website: http://www.lewisburgprisonproject.org/#
Lewisburg Prison Project educates prisoners as to their civil rights and distributes a variety of legal bulletins and publications, written in non-technical laymen's terms, at a minimal cost. We accept stamps and self-addressed stamped envelopes as payment. Write for a free list of materials offered.
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Their campaign: ACLU Death Penalty Campaign
CENTURION MINISTRIES
221 Witherspoon St, Princeton NJ 08542-3215 / Website: www.centurionministries.org
Centurion Ministries (CM) is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. CM has a national network of attorneys and forensic experts who ably assist us in our work on behalf of the convicted innocent throughout the U.S. and Canada. The primary mission of CM is to vindicate and free from prison those who are completely innocent of the crimes for which they have been unjustly convicted and imprisoned for life or death. We also assist our clients, once they are freed, with reintegration into society on a self-reliant basis. CM has very narrow criteria for the types of cases that we will consider reviewing. Please review our stated criteria: (1) We only consider murder or rape cases within the U.S. as well as Canada that carry a life or death sentence. We do NOT consider self-defense or accidental death cases. We will only consider a rape case if there is the possibility of using DNA testing to clear the convicted person. We do NOT consider child sex cases unless the case has physical evidence that could be scientifically tested to prove innocence. (2) You must be absolutely 100% innocent of the crime and have had absolutely no involvement whatsoever with the crime. (3) You must be indigent and have largely exhausted your appeals. (4) We are NOT lawyers and, therefore, we do NOT offer legal assistance to those who petition us for help. We CANNOT make referrals to attorneys. If the inmate does fit ALL of our criteria, their initial letter to us should be brief, outlining the facts of the crime, and what led to their arrest for the crime. Inmates should NOT send briefs or transcripts of other materials! We just want to hear the facts in the inmate’s own words. We in turn will send them a letter that outlines exactly what information we want, and what they can expect from us in the way of assistance.
Read an article about Centurion Ministries, Jim McCloskey: He helps innocent prisoners win their freedom
THE INNOCENCE PROJECT
The Innocence Project is a non-profit legal clinic affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and created by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in 1992. The project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. As a clinic, law students handle case work while supervised by a team of attorneys and clinic staff. The Innocence Project was set up as and remains a nonprofit legal clinic. This project only handles cases where post-conviction DNA testing of evidence can yield conclusive proof of innocence. As a clinic, students handle the casework while supervised by a team of attorneys and clinic staff. Most of our clients are poor, forgotten, and have used up all of their legal avenues for relief. The hope they all have is that biological evidence from their cases still exists and can be subjected to DNA testing. All Innocence Project clients go through an extensive screening process to determine whether or not DNA testing of evidence could prove their claims of innocence. To find an Innocence Project in your state, click here
The Innocence Project is not equipped to handle case applications or inquiries by email or over the phone. All case submissions and follow-up correspondence will be handled by mail or overnight delivery services only. If you are seeking legal assistance, click here to read guidelines for submitting your case.
Innocence Project, 40 Worth St., Suite 701 New York, NY 10013 - [email protected] - T 212.364.5340 - Website: www.innocenceproject.org
Also: The Innocence Project Northwest Read more here
INVESTIGATING INNOCENCE
Our organization provides investigative services to indigent inmates, lawyers, and to members of the Innocence Network who seek to prove post-conviction claims of actual innocence. A 501 (c)(3) non-for-profit organization, we are supported by the dues of our members and through the generosity of our donors. Our members are devoted to freeing the innocent. TO REFER A CASE GO HERE
THE EXONERATION PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
The Exoneration Project handles cases for people seeking to prove their innocence. If you have a case that you would like the Exoneration Project to evaluate, please download our questionnaire here and return it by US mail to:
The Exoneration Project
312 N. May St., Ste. 100
Chicago, Illinois 60607
READ MORE
EQUAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE (FOR NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA)
Equal Justice Collaborative is a non-profit law firm committed to fairness in the criminal justice system.
We provide direct legal representation to indigent inmates in North and South Carolina. We also provide mitigation investigation services for clients facing harsh sentences. Our clients include adults facing death sentences and juveniles facing life without parole, among others.
The organization is supported by court fees and donations.
READ MORE
LEWISBURG PRISON PROJECT
PO Box 128, Lewisburg PA 17837 / Tel: (570) 523-1104 / E-mail: [email protected] / Website: http://www.lewisburgprisonproject.org/#
Lewisburg Prison Project educates prisoners as to their civil rights and distributes a variety of legal bulletins and publications, written in non-technical laymen's terms, at a minimal cost. We accept stamps and self-addressed stamped envelopes as payment. Write for a free list of materials offered.
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Their campaign: ACLU Death Penalty Campaign
CENTURION MINISTRIES
221 Witherspoon St, Princeton NJ 08542-3215 / Website: www.centurionministries.org
Centurion Ministries (CM) is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. CM has a national network of attorneys and forensic experts who ably assist us in our work on behalf of the convicted innocent throughout the U.S. and Canada. The primary mission of CM is to vindicate and free from prison those who are completely innocent of the crimes for which they have been unjustly convicted and imprisoned for life or death. We also assist our clients, once they are freed, with reintegration into society on a self-reliant basis. CM has very narrow criteria for the types of cases that we will consider reviewing. Please review our stated criteria: (1) We only consider murder or rape cases within the U.S. as well as Canada that carry a life or death sentence. We do NOT consider self-defense or accidental death cases. We will only consider a rape case if there is the possibility of using DNA testing to clear the convicted person. We do NOT consider child sex cases unless the case has physical evidence that could be scientifically tested to prove innocence. (2) You must be absolutely 100% innocent of the crime and have had absolutely no involvement whatsoever with the crime. (3) You must be indigent and have largely exhausted your appeals. (4) We are NOT lawyers and, therefore, we do NOT offer legal assistance to those who petition us for help. We CANNOT make referrals to attorneys. If the inmate does fit ALL of our criteria, their initial letter to us should be brief, outlining the facts of the crime, and what led to their arrest for the crime. Inmates should NOT send briefs or transcripts of other materials! We just want to hear the facts in the inmate’s own words. We in turn will send them a letter that outlines exactly what information we want, and what they can expect from us in the way of assistance.
Read an article about Centurion Ministries, Jim McCloskey: He helps innocent prisoners win their freedom
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FAMILIES AGAINST MANDATORY MINIMUMS (FAMM)
1612 K St. N.W. Suite 700, Washington DC 20006 / Tel: (202) 822-6700 / E-mail: [email protected] / Website: www.famm.org
FAMM is a national nonprofit organization founded to challenge inflexible and excessive penalties required by mandatory sentencing laws. We promote sentencing policies that give judges the discretion to distinguish between defendants and sentence them according to their role in the offense, seriousness of the offense, and potential for rehabilitation. FAMM's 25,000 members include prisoners and their families, attorneys, judges, criminal justice experts, and concerned citizens. you may write for further information.
GRASSROOTS INVESTIGATION PROJECT (GRIP) Quixote Center
PO Box 5206, Hyattsville MD 20722 / Tel: (301) 699-0042 / E-mail: [email protected] / Website: www.lairdcarlson.com/grip
The mission of the Grassroots Investigation Project is to empower family members of death row inmates and anti-death penalty activists to create partnerships with lawyers, journalists, and academicians for the purpose of conducting low-cost investigations of death penalty cases that may reveal innocence and help to bring about a death penalty moratorium. Inmates may write for further information.
NATIONAL CENTER ON INSTITUTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES
7222 Ambassador Road Baltimore, MD 21244 / Tel: (410) 265-1490 / E-mail: [email protected] / Website: www.ncianet.org
It is the mission of NCIA to help create a society in which all persons who come into contact with the human service or correctional systems will be provided with an environment of individual care, concern and treatment. NCIA is dedicated to developing quality programs and professional services that advocate timely intervention and unconditional care. Our goal is to reduce the reliance on institutions in criminal justice proceedings by utilizing alternatives such as community service, addressing substance abuse problems, and by using a third party monitor. We offer pre-sentence investigative services, parole release reports, and we provide public information on criminal justice matters.
NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD
132 Nassau Street, #922 New York NY 10038 / Tel: (212) 679-5100 / Website: www.nlg.org
The National Lawyers Guild is an association dedicated to the need for basic change in the structure of our political and economic system. We provide self-help law kits free of charge to assist inmates in representing themselves and their own cases or in assisting others. The self-help kits are written in an easy to use language that tells you how to file civil complains, how to deal with grievances, and most other legal matters that you would encounter in the course of being imprisoned.
PRISON LAW OFFICE GENERAL DELIVERY
San Quentin CA 94964 / Tel: (415) 457-9144 / Website: www.prisonlaw.com
The Prison Law Office provides free legal services to California state prisoners (only), and occasionally to California state parolees. Our assistance is generally limited to cases regarding conditions of confinement. The office attempts to resolve such cases informally, if possible (by advocating to prison officials), or through formal litigation. We also offer numerous self-help law manuals free of charge.
MAC ARTHUR JUSTICE CENTER - CENTER ON WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS
The Center on Wrongful Convictions will consider cases containing the following characteristics:
a - A Claim of Actual Innocence: The Center on Wrongful Convictions at present is restricted to handling only cases of persons who assert that they were in no way involved in the crimes for which they were convicted.
b - A Minimum of 10 Years Remaining on a Prison Sentence for a Non-DNA Case
If your case contains these characteristics and you would like to have it reviewed by the Center on Wrongful Convictions for possible representation, please send us a letter with details of the case to:
Center on Wrongful Convictions
Northwestern University School of Law
375 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611
a - A Claim of Actual Innocence: The Center on Wrongful Convictions at present is restricted to handling only cases of persons who assert that they were in no way involved in the crimes for which they were convicted.
b - A Minimum of 10 Years Remaining on a Prison Sentence for a Non-DNA Case
If your case contains these characteristics and you would like to have it reviewed by the Center on Wrongful Convictions for possible representation, please send us a letter with details of the case to:
Center on Wrongful Convictions
Northwestern University School of Law
375 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Death row prisoners need legal, investigative and community assistance to counter negative forces marshaled against them. Some are without lawyers or are having problems with lawyers that are representing them. Most need investigative work on their cases and there is rarely funding available for this critical work. Others need local contacts and support groups and contact with the media. Many need their families and friends to have a better understanding of their cases and training/support for family members to facilitate meaningful work on the cases. Some need innocence claims presented to Innocence Projects. Both prisoners and their loved ones need to gain skills in summarizing case issues, identifying tasks, and finding resources so that they can become effective self-advocates and advocates. NDRAN addresses these issues and develops individual and collective solutions by networking nationally and acting locally.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Summer June -> Sept
Claudia Whitman
6 Tolman Rd
Peaks Island, ME 04108
Phone: (207) 766-2418
Winter
Claudia Whitman
12200 Rd 41.9
Mancos, CO 81328
Phone (970) 533-7383
E-mail: [email protected]
CONTACT INFORMATION
Summer June -> Sept
Claudia Whitman
6 Tolman Rd
Peaks Island, ME 04108
Phone: (207) 766-2418
Winter
Claudia Whitman
12200 Rd 41.9
Mancos, CO 81328
Phone (970) 533-7383
E-mail: [email protected]
ABA DEATH PENALTY REPRESENTATION PROJECT
The American Bar Association created the Death Penalty Representation Project in 1986. Our goals are to raise awareness about the lack of representation available to Death Row prisoners, to address this urgent need by recruiting competent volunteer attorneys, and to offer these volunteers training and assistance. We also work for systemic changes in the criminal justice system that would assure those individuals facing death are represented at all stages of the proceedings from trial through clemency by qualified, adequately compensated counsel.
American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project
1050 Connecticut Avenue NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 662-1738
Fax: (202) 662-8649
[email protected]
OTHER RESOURCES
Constitution Project
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
The Sentencing Project
Southern Center for Human Rights
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
Truth in Justice
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
The Sentencing Project
Southern Center for Human Rights
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
Truth in Justice
III. other campaigning organisations
CAMPAIGN TO END THE DEATH PENALTY, TEXAS
The Campaign to End the Death Penalty (CEDP) is a national grassroots organization dedicated to the abolition of capital punishment. We have active chapters and members across the United States—including California, Texas, Delaware, New York, and Chicago. To win abolition, we need to build a grassroots struggle. We believe that those who have experienced the horrors of death row first hand–death row prisoners themselves and their family members–should be at the forefront of our movement. Their experiences help to shape our strategies. -
LUTTE POUR LA JUSTICE, FRANCE
Lutte pour la Justice is a French association under the 1901 law, working with defense lawyers in Texas (including those who defended Odel Barnes). We finance DNA tests,psychiatric evaluations, etc, hence supporting the legal defence of prisoners on death row. Those actions are done with the help of support committees. We help collective actions, such as petitions, clemency requests; in France, we help with the moral support to prisoners, information on the death penalty in the US, and money collections supporting such actions.
The Campaign to End the Death Penalty (CEDP) is a national grassroots organization dedicated to the abolition of capital punishment. We have active chapters and members across the United States—including California, Texas, Delaware, New York, and Chicago. To win abolition, we need to build a grassroots struggle. We believe that those who have experienced the horrors of death row first hand–death row prisoners themselves and their family members–should be at the forefront of our movement. Their experiences help to shape our strategies. -
LUTTE POUR LA JUSTICE, FRANCE
Lutte pour la Justice is a French association under the 1901 law, working with defense lawyers in Texas (including those who defended Odel Barnes). We finance DNA tests,psychiatric evaluations, etc, hence supporting the legal defence of prisoners on death row. Those actions are done with the help of support committees. We help collective actions, such as petitions, clemency requests; in France, we help with the moral support to prisoners, information on the death penalty in the US, and money collections supporting such actions.
More resources on the web: InsideBooksProject
