Spring 2019: Capital Punishment Clinic

By Professor Patrick Metze, Director of the Capital Punishment Clinic. Originally published in the Spring 2019 Texas Tech Law Newsletter.

The eleventh Capital Punishment Clinic semester, focusing on student attorney Amanda Byrne's work with the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases and a visit from Sister Helen Prejean.

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

The Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases office welcomed it's eleventh 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 one student was chosen from those that completed the Fall 2018 Capital Punishment Seminar. Completion of the seminar indoctrinates the chosen students into the unique world of the capital defender. The student chosen this year was Amanda Byrne.

This column is reproduced only in brief. Read the whole thing in the Spring 2019 issue at Texas Tech Law.