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Minimum £5 donation required. Please note it may take up to 72 hours to receive confirmation of your registration. If you have not received a confirmation email within this time, please email us at admin@amicus-alj.org

NB: Due to an overwhelming response, we are currently experiencing technical difficulties on the registration page via our PayPal page. We kindly ask you to refresh the landing page, should the PayPal link not fully load. If the problem persists, please contact us at admin@amicus-alj.org.

A nun, a journalist, a lawyer and an investigator join forces in our fight against injustice in the death penalty.

How the death penalty in the US affects the whole of society, through the lens of the film Clemency and Wes Purkey’s recent federal execution. Join our amazing live panel of experts, to discuss their personal experiences of a system steeped in injustice.

Amid a pandemic, an election and the Black Lives Matter outrage, the federal system starts to execute people again after 17 years. What does this mean for the law, justice and society on a national and international stage?

The Panel

Sister Helen Prejean “People are more than the worst thing they have ever done in their lives" 

Liz Vartkessian “I had the privilege of getting to know Wes as a person, not the act for which he was convicted and sentenced to death.”

Rebecca Woodman  “This experience will weigh heavily on all of us ... we fought as hard as we could, and did everything we could to save Wes, who was so very worthy of saving.”

David Rose "Almost 50 years after the US Supreme Court temporarily struck down the death penalty in the case of Furman vs. Georgia on the grounds that it was arbitrary and unfair, it remains exactly that – and hence a mirror of the divisions and inequalities in American society that every year become more intense."​​​​​​​

Registration

Register for your place on this one off event by clicking the donate button below. To attend this event, we ask for a minimum £5 donation. 

We were incredibly sad to have had to cancel our previously planned event with Sister Helen due to COVID-19, but are excited to be able to bring you this online panel like no other! We hope that you will enjoy this event and donate generously to Amicus to allow us to continue our important work ensuring justice for those facing the death penalty. We are needed now more than ever. Thank you for your support, every donation makes a difference.

Please note it may take up to 72 hours to receive confirmation of your registration. If you have not received a confirmation email within this time, please email us at admin@amicus-alj.org. ​​​​​​​

To register, click on the button below: 

Minimum £5 donation required. Please note it may take up to 72 hours to receive confirmation of your registration. If you have not received a confirmation email within this time, please email us at admin@amicus-alj.org

NB: Due to an overwhelming response, we are currently experiencing technical difficulties on the registration page via our PayPal page. We kindly ask you to refresh the landing page, should the PayPal link not fully load. If the problem persists, please contact us at admin@amicus-alj.org.


Meet our Panellists

Sister Helen Prejean

Abolitionist and writer. Sister Helen Prejean is a member of the Congregation of St.Josephs’, founder of the group SURVIVE, and Chairman of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Prejean is also known for her best-selling book ‘Dead Man Walking’, which was adapted into an Oscar-winning movie. 

“People are more than the worst thing they have ever done in their lives.” 

#Nun4Justice

Elizabeth Vartkessian

Director of ARC, mitigation specialist and lead investigator on the Wes Purkey case. In the past Vartkessian has worked with capital defence teams, on trial, and post-conviction cases in the United States. More recently, Vartkessian has also become the Director of ARC, a national non-profit dedicated to conducting life history investigations in criminal cases.

“I had the privilege of getting to know Wes as a person, not the act for which he was convicted and sentenced to death.”

#People4Justice

Rebecca Woodman

Wes Purkey’s defence attorney. Woodman has specialised in death penalty defence for over two decades, having represented persons facing the death penalty at trial, on appeal, in state post-conviction and federal habeas corpus. She has argued death penalty cases in both state and federal court, including the Supreme Court of the United States.

“This experience will weigh heavily on all of us ... we fought as hard as we could, and did everything we could to save Wes, who was so very worthy of saving.”

#Defender4Justice

David Rose

Author and investigative journalist. Rose is the author of six non-fiction books and has written for publications such as Vanity Fair and The Mail on Sunday. Rose also has direct experience campaigning for those on death row, most notably Carlton Gray.

"Almost 50 years after the US Supreme Court temporarily struck down the death penalty in the case of Furman vs. Georgia on the grounds that it was arbitrary and unfair, it remains exactly that – and hence a mirror of the divisions and inequalities in American society that every year become more intense."

#Hack4Justice