Rare Breed - profiles of three defense lawyers who work death penalty cases, Stephen Bright, Bryan Stevenson, and John Holderidge

National Catholic Reporter, Oct 5, 2001 by Claire Schaeffer-Duffy

Capital representation at the federal level is typically considered quite good, according to law professor Larry Marshall of Northwestern University. For the attorney faced with the daunting task of defending a capital client, funds and training are available. Millions were spent on the defense of Timothy McVeigh, for example, and Robert Nigh, McVeigh's attorney, received ample legal assistance from the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel, an organization comprised of topnotch capital defenders.

Capital representation at the state level, however, is far more haphazard. Some states provide training for their capital trial attorneys; in others, resources are absurdly scant. "Many," says Bright, "lack the key elements of an effective indigent defense system: a structure, independence from the judiciary and the prosecution and adequate resources."

Bright believes that it is "not unreasonable for Congress to require the states as a condition of receiving millions of federal dollars to implement an adequate indigent defense system to protect the innocent at least in capital cases." --Claire Schaeffer-Duffy

Related Web sites

Equal Justice Initiative
www.eji.org

National Legal Aid and Defender
Association
www.nlada:org

Southern Center for Human Rights
www.schr.org

Claire Schaeffer-Duffy is a freelance writer living in Worcester, Mass.