Spring 2020: Capital Punishment Clinic

By Professor Patrick Metze, Director of the Capital Punishment Clinic. Originally published in the Spring 2020 Texas Tech Law Newsletter.

The twelfth Capital Punishment Clinic semester, the three students chosen (Langford, Fox, Logsdon), the role of the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases, and a February 2020 visit from anti-death penalty advocate David Dow.

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

The Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases office welcomed it's twelfth 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 three students were chosen from those that completed the Fall 2019 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 2020 issue at Texas Tech Law.