Equal Justice Initiative

Human rights work on behalf of Romani victims of discrimination and advocacy for poor people in the criminal justice system in the Deep South was the focus at today's Gruber Justice Prize award ceremony.

On August 24, 2009, attorneys with the Equal Justice Initiative filed a petition in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Alabama death row inmate Michael Carruth challenging the state courts' decision that death row inmates like Mr. Carruth have no right to counsel on appeal to the state's highest court.

On Monday, May 18, 2009, the United States Supreme Court granted Alabama death row prisoner Holly Wood's request for review in Wood v. Allen (No. 08-9156).

Willie McNair was executed last week after courts refused to review the trial judge’s decision to sentence him to death even though the jury decided he should be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

On Friday, May 8, 2009, EJI attorneys filed a motion asking the Alabama Supreme Court to stay the execution of Willie McNair because of questions about the validity of his sentence. Mr. McNair’s execution currently is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, 2009.

The State of Alabama executed Jimmy Dill on April 16, 2009, in spite of serious concerns that he did not receive the adequate legal assistance necessary to ensure a reliable conviction and sentence in his case.

On Monday, April 13, 2009, EJI attorneys filed a motion asking the Alabama Supreme Court to stay the execution of Jimmy Dill, currently set for Thursday, April 16, 2009, because of unique and important problems in his case.

Kenneth Frazier (left) won the release of James "Bo" Cochran, who spent 19 years on Alabama's death row for a crime he did not commit.

On October 31, 2008, Equal Justice Initiative attorneys filed a brief in the Alabama Supreme Court on behalf of Alabama death row inmate Michael Carruth, in which it argued that Mr. Carruth is entitled to an out-of-time appeal because the lawyer appointed to represent him on the appeal of his conviction failed to file a mandatory petition for review in the Alabama Supreme Court.

The federal Judicial Conference Committee on Defender Services recently released a preliminary Update on the Cost, Quality, and Availability of Defense Representation in Federal Death Penalty Cases focusing on the cost of legal representation in federal death penalty cases.