Spring 2021: Capital Punishment Clinic

By Professor Patrick Metze, Director of the Capital Punishment Clinic. Originally published in the Spring 2021 Texas Tech Law Newsletter.

The thirteenth Capital Punishment Clinic, students Darris Hawks and Hunter Wallen, and pandemic disruptions to the usual program of speakers and in-person work.

From the Desk of Patrick S. Metze – Capital Punishment Clinic

The Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases office welcomed it's thirteenth Capital Punishment Clinic this past Spring semester. This office is the only statewide defender for capital cases with eight regional offices throughout Texas. Our clients are, each of them, in the unenviable position of prolonged incarceration, generally single celled, alienated from family with little hope of eventual release. This semester two students were chosen from those that completed the Fall 2020 Capital Punishment Seminar. Completion of the seminar indoctrinates the chosen students into the unique world of the capital defender.

This column is reproduced only in brief. Read the whole thing in the Spring 2021 issue at Texas Tech Law.