Challenging and removing the death sentence
Our 25-strong team of lawyers are currently representing seven men under sentence of death in Alabama; in six of these cases, the clients’ juries actually voted against the death sentence, but Alabama law – which we are challenging – allowed the trial judges to overrule the juries and impose a death sentence.
Through years of litigation in previous cases in Illinois and Pennsylvania, our lawyers succeeded in saving three clients who had been sentenced to death.
United States – juvenile justice
In Pennsylvania, many teenagers were being sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. In June 2017, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania threw out life-without-parole prison terms for juveniles, allowing hundreds across the state to be re-sentenced.
Our lawyers have fought for and won fair sentences in several of these court proceedings. In one case, our client has already been released from prison due to his demonstrated rehabilitation.
“At last count there were about 500 people who were convicted of crimes committed while they were juveniles and all of those are going through the process of being re-sentenced.”
Dave Fawcett, Partner, Pittsburgh
Pregnant inmates
In Pittsburgh, following a federal lawsuit that we brought against the county and officials at the local jail, our lawyers compelled the jail to cease its prior inhumane practice of placing pregnant inmates into solitary confinement for minor failures to follow rules.
Amicus
A team of over 50 of our European lawyers assist individuals facing the death penalty in the United States by providing a legal casework service to Amicus, which directly assists American lawyers defending such cases.
“Amicus is a small fair trials charity representing people facing the death penalty. Reed Smith lawyers have done some amazing work on our cases; they have made a huge difference, assisting with preparation and key investigation, unearthing information that otherwise would have been lost.”
Margot Ravenscroft, Director at Amicus
Prisoners’ Advice Service
Our team of over 30 lawyers provide free legal advice to adult prisoners in England and Wales; we work with the Prisoners’ Advice Service answering queries about prison rules and prison laws.
“We consider ourselves lucky to have a good friend like Reed Smith, with an astute understanding of how best they can support us to continue providing legal advice and information to one of the most marginalized groups in society.”
Lubia Begum-Rob, Director at Prisoners’ Advice Service
Reprieve
Our lawyers assist the not-for-profit Reprieve in its death penalty casework, providing research, amicus briefs, and submissions. Reprieve helps some of the world’s most vulnerable people: those facing the death penalty, secret detention, or assassination at the hands of some of the world’s most powerful governments.
“In my time at Reprieve there has rarely been a case we have worked on without the input of some brilliant lawyer/s tucked away in an office in a distant city. We rely on the idealism, passion and resource of pro bono lawyers and their firms to support some of our biggest cases.”
Clive Stafford Smith, Founder and Director at Reprieve
