This page provides much of the information that you may need to know about the programme. However, if you have any further questions please contact Andrew Williams on a.t.williams@warwick.ac.uk

What is the Death Penalty Project?

This bro prono project aims to assist Attorneys with their work on capital cases in a variety of different ways. It allows students in the UK the opportunity to remotely participate in assignments, that those who intern with US attorneys may carry out. The project began in October 2008 and has now been running successfully for a year. It is run by a group of students at the University of Warwick - some who have completed an internship in the US, and others who have participated in various levels of training.

Who performs the work?

The majority of those participating in the project are undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of Warwick Law School, however we do have participants from other disciplines including Sociology and History.

How are the participants trained?

The Students involved in the project receive a training programme which provides them with a general overview of capital punishment in the US, in addition to an understanding of areas unique to a capital trial such as mitigation. Student participants also receive training in practical skills to enable them to carry out the work. Groups of student participants completing work are supervised by "team leaders" who have more experience in this area to ensure the work is completed to a high standard.

The training for the coming Academic year will include a short lecture programme including two speakers who have practised as Capital Defence Lawyers, and a number or representatives from the charity Amicus. Students from the University who have completed an internship in the US are also a valuable part of the training. The training also involves a "practical element" through role play, to help the students better understand processes such as jury selection.

What projects can we undertake?

One of the projects that can most easily be undertaken by the group is the summarising of trial transcripts. After we receive the transcripts (by email, or if too large, by disk) a bullet point summary can be created (normally with a ratio of 10 pages being summarised into 1) and will be returned via email as one Microsoft Word document. This can also be completed with other forms of evidence or any written documents.

Proof reading is another area that can be carried out by the project. This includes anything from proof reading research for publications, to briefs or motions. The proof reading can be anything from simple checks of grammar and spelling to checking references or any other information specified. The documents will be returned via email with amendments highlighted in red.

Drafting of motions can be completed (by those who have received full training) and be returned within a shorter timescale.

The Project group is open to further suggestions from Attorneys as to any further work that would be of assistance.

How quickly can we turn work around?

Once we have received a work request some guidance on a suggested timescale is useful. This is normally done in multiples of two eg two, four, six or eight weeks. The timescale is dependent on the priority of the work and also the size. Once the work is received we can normally provide a fairly accurate prediction of how long it will take for the work to be completed.

How can I get further information?

The project will begin to fully able to begin assignments in October 2009 therefore please feel free to send any cases etc in September and a return date will be confirmed. All contact is through a central contact either via email or Skype.

If you would like further information regarding the project then please email Andrew Williams at a.t.williams@warwick.ac.uk