National Lawyers Guild 143 Madison Avenue NY, NY 10016 Tel: 212-679-5100 www.nlg.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 1, 2005 Contact: Laura Raymond, National Student Organizer, 212-679-5100 x12 Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director, 212-679-5100 x11 LAW STUDENTS TAKE NATIONWIDE ACTION AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY Law students across the country are speaking out in opposition to the death penalty on March 1, 2005 as part of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty. At least 27 campuses are participating in this national day of action and education, with the following being a sampling of the events taking place at the various law schools: Kerry Cook, who spent 22 years on Texas Death Row for a crime he did not commit, will speak at Southern Methodist University Joy Sojoodi, whose parents and employees were murdered in their Chicago-area restaurant, will speak about her stance against the death penalty at the University of California at Davis Attorney Colin Starger of the Innocence Project will speak at Brooklyn Law School about how innocence projects have affected the way in which the public perceives the death penalty Students are highlighting both the flaws in the legal system with regards to capital cases and the subsequent shift in public opinion. Capital punishment has fallen under increasing scrutiny in the past year, with public support at its lowest point in 30 years. The national call for abolition takes place a week after a new American Bar Association study, which surveyed 22 states, found that thousands of suspects, including some who are later sentenced to death, risk wrongful conviction because they are pressured to accept guilty pleas or have incompetent attorneys. The ABA committee that led the study concluded that legal representation for indigent defendants is in "a state of crisis." Laura Raymond, NLG National Student Organizer, says, “A death penalty trial is like a game of Russian roulette. It puts the defendant’s life in the hands of a deeply flawed system. As long as capital punishment exists the government is sanctioning and imposing the ultimate injustice.” The NLG calls for the immediate abolition of the death penalty. The NLG, founded in 1937, comprises approximately 4,000 members and activists in the service of the people. It has chapters in nearly every state and on 99 law school campuses.