NAPD 2024 Women's Virtual Conference

What if all it took to prevent a capital murder was ONE person caring about the would-be offender?  This session aims to inform and inspire by presenting research from the field of capital litigation, showing that the difference between capital murderers and similarly situated individuals who did not kill is often just one person. A teacher. A coach. A family friend. A criminal defense attorney. Yes, YOU. You could be that person. Capital case mitigation files show time and again that capital defendants didn’t have a chance from the start—they come from broken homes marked by physical and sexual abuse that all too often qualify as “terrorization.” But when researchers look at siblings subject to the exact same conditions—siblings who showed sure signs of trauma but did not commit capital murder—the difference was often just one person who cared. What does it tell us that capital defendants often can’t point to a single person in their life who believed in them and treated them with kindness? And what are the lessons for criminal defense attorneys who come into contact with offenders at various points in their lives?  Answering these questions—and highlighting the critically important role that criminal defense attorneys play in serving the most vulnerable members of society—is the aim of this session.