My week as a Reprieve volunteer

I’ve spent a really fascinating and inspiring week volunteering at Reprieve.

The highlight was Thursday morning, which saw our client Linda Carty engage the press and passers by in Trafalgar Square as she seemingly addressed the British public from Antony Gormley’s Fourth Plinth.

Brian Capaloff, the plinther and friend of Reprieve, dedicated his one hour spot to Linda’s case and just sixty minutes of audio loop and two hundred leaflets generated worldwide media coverage documenting Linda’s plight as she faces her last crucial months. We also had a flood of donations and supportive e-mails to Reprieve. We even gained a staunch new friend and supporter in the form of the plinth’s security guard who, initially concerned with the chaos it was generating, soon seemed much moved by Linda’s case.

The square swarmed with journalists requesting interviews with Reprieve’s Executive Director Clare Algar and Death Penalty legal director Sally Rowen, who fended off accusations that Reprieve was hi-jacking Gormley’s project for political ends by noting that “But great art is political”. Back in the office the phones were ringing off the hook as Linda's speech generated coverage in Switzerland, the United States and even as far afield as New Zealand.

Thank you so much to the British public, media and friends of Reprieve for taking an interest in Linda’s case, your support is crucial and means a lot. Let Linda’s words from the plinth be a chilling reminder that her fight is not over yet, “Please listen and tell everyone you know. Please don’t let me die here.”