Former Reprieve Fellows

Reprieve has operated an extremely successful and well-regarded US Fellowship programme for several years, thanks to major donations from Keymed, the Roddick Foundation, the Sigrid Rausing Trust and the Law Society, among others. The Reprieve US Fellowships have enabled outstanding individuals with a proven commitment to capital defence work to initiate a project or take up a position in a not-for-profit host organisation in the United States working on behalf of poor people facing the death penalty.

More recently, Reprieve’s EC Project Research Fellowships have offered individuals starting out in their death penalty career the opportunity to work on gathering the necessary data to identify foreign nationals on death row, by liaising with attorneys, academic institutions, prisoners, and other contacts and by undertaking further investigation. Similarly, Reprieve's project-specific Fellowships have provided opportunities for individuals starting out in their human rights career to conduct investigations and research on specific Reprieve projects.

Former Reprieve Fellows include:

Annie Nisenson (Research Fellow, EC Project, USA, 2010-2011)

Working in New Orleans as a Research Fellow on Reprieve's EC funded project, Annie identified and assisted European nationals on death row in the US. Annie graduated from University of California at Berkeley with a degree in History. Prior to working with Reprieve, Annie was an intern at Justice Now, providing legal services to women and men in California prisons. She also worked as a volunteer with No More Deaths on the US–Mexico border, documenting human rights violations and conducting deportation impact surveys. Annie joined Reprieve to further develop her interests in social justice and human rights law.

Kim Manning-Cooper (Fellow, South East Asia, 2010-2011)

Kim spent a year as a Reprieve Fellow for South East Asia, based in Thailand. In this role, Kim identified and assisted British nationals facing the death penalty in the region. She also investigated cases and worked with local lawyers and government and consular officials. Before joining Reprieve, Kim had over a decade's experience working on human rights campaigns for NGOs and many more as an activist. She was with Reprieve on a one-year sabbatical from Amnesty International UK, where she manages the campaign for global abolition of the death penalty. Kim worked closely with Reprieve in her previous role at AIUK on a number of joint campaigns and initiatives. She is now back at AIUK, but continues to do voluntary work with Reprieve.

Sultana Noon (Investigative Fellow, Pakistan, 2008-2011)

As a Reprieve Fellow in Pakistan, Sultana investigated the network of illegal secret prisons created by the US and gathered evidence for challenging such practices in international courts. She also investigated selected death penalty cases in the region, and the cases of prisoners in Guantánamo who are from Pakistan.  Sultana studied social psychology and political science at Bennington College where she did extensive research on capital punishment in Islam. As a student, Sultana completed an internship at the Federal Defender Program, Inc. in Atlanta, GA where she assisted in juror interviews. After her graduation in 2005, Sultana worked at the Center for Capital Assistance in San Francisco, CA where she worked on federal and state death penalty cases out of Southern California, Texas and Montana. In September 2011, Sultana joined Reprieve's staff as an Investigator on the Secret Prisons and Extraordinary Renditions team.

Afshaan Hena, Pakistan Research Fellow (Birmingham, 2011) 

Afshaan Hena worked in Reprieve's Birmingham office as a Research Fellow on Reprieve's Pakistan Police Torture Project. Prior to being a Reprieve Fellow Afshaan worked as an Immigration practitioner for a large charity, mainly representing those seeking asylum in the UK, by preparing their applications, appeals and working on Judicial Review cases as a result of unlawful decisions. She also spent a number of years working for the Official Solicitor, acting as litigation friend to those without capacity and minors in their Civil Litigation department. Afshaan is a qualified barrister, having been called to the Bar in 2007 after completing her BVC part time at BPP Law School, London. She has a BA in Law and English Literature from Keele University. She is starting pupillage with Renaissance Chambers in London in October 2011.

Owen Watkins, Pakistan Research Fellow (Birmingham, 2011) 

Owen was made a Reprieve Fellow on the Pakistan Police Torture Project, following six months volunteering in Birmingham. He graduated in 2010 from the University of Birmingham with a 2.1 in Law with interests focusing on International Human Rights and International Public Law. From Cardiff originally, Owen speaks French as well as conversational Welsh.  Prior to joining Reprieve, Owen worked at a solicitors’ firm in Cardiff and in the Engineering Department at the University of Surrey. Following this experience, Owen volunteered with Oxfam GB, working on WatSan (water and sanitation) issues in camps of displaced persons in North Uganda. Owen has also worked to improve conditions in hospitals for the mentally ill in Sri Lanka with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2008.

Nawaz Hanif, Pakistan Research Fellow (Birmingham, 2011)

Nawaz was a Fellow on the Pakistan Police Torture Project, based in Reprieve’s temporary office in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham. Nawaz graduated with a BA (hons) in Politics and International Relations from Coventry University.  Nawaz previously volunteered for several Members of Parliament and Councillors from the West Midlands area, including voluntary work as an election officer for a sitting Member of Parliament in his final year at university.  Nawaz’s relationship with Reprieve preceded his work on the PPTP, as he is the son of former Reprieve client Mohammed Hanif. Mohammed spent four years in Pakistan facing the death penalty between 2006 and 2010, before Reprieve eventually aided his acquittal and release. Nawaz himself was arrested and detained as an 18 year-old and witnessed police abuse firsthand.  After finishing as a Reprieve Fellow on the PPTP, Nawaz went on to volunteer with Reprieve Fellow Sarah Belal in Pakistan.

Clemency Wells (Research Fellow, EC Project, USA and UK, 2010-2011)

Working in New Orleans, and subsequently in London, as a Research Fellow on Reprieve's EC funded project, Clemency identified and assisted European nationals on death row in the US.  Clemency graduated from Queen Mary, University of London and the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in History and Politics. Clemency joined Reprieve as a death penalty volunteer to develop her interests in social justice and human rights law. She spent a year in New Orleans as a Reprieve Research Fellow on the EC Project, before moving back to the UK to continue her Fellowship in the London office. In 2011, Clemency joined Reprieve's staff as a Resource Development Officer.

Hannah Gorman (Research Fellow, EC Project, USA, 2010-2011)

Working in New Orleans as a Research Fellow on Reprieve's EC funded project, Hannah identified and assisted European nationals on death row in the US.  Prior to joining Reprieve, Hannah was Head of Prison Law at Carter Moore, Manchester, UK. She trained and qualified as a Solicitor-Advocate at the firm specialising in serious crime, appeals and judicial review. She also worked pro bono on a number of death penalty cases and assisted in the drafting of an amicus curiae brief to the US Supreme Court arguing against the imposition of whole life sentences for juveniles.  After graduating, Hannah was an intern at the Office of Capital Defense Counsel, Jackson, Mississippi . Upon her return, she became a member of the Amicus Management Committee, responsible for organising death penalty training.  Hannah studied law at Birmingham University and obtained a diploma in legal practice from Sheffield University. 

Anna Chadwick (Research Fellow, EC Project, London, 2010)

Anna worked in the London Office as a volunteer, and subsequently a Research Fellow on Reprieve's EC funded project. In this role, Anna identified and assisted European nationals on death row in the US. Anna completed her undergraduate law degree at the University of Leeds in 2007 and graduated from Kings College London in 2009 with an LLM specialising in UK and International Human Rights Law. Anna joined Reprieve to further develop her interest in the field of human rights.

Charlotte Hillyard (Research Fellow, EC Project, London, 2010)

Charlotte worked in the London Office as a Research Fellow on Reprieve's EC funded project. In this role, Charlotte identified and assisted European nationals on death row in the US. Charlotte completed her undergraduate degree in Spanish at the University of Bristol in 2007. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP University College, London and completed the Legal Practice Course in 2010. Charlotte joined Reprieve as a Death Penalty volunteer to further her commitment to human rights and develop her interest in international law.

Elinor Fry (Research Fellow, EC Project, USA, 2010)

Working in New Orleans as a Research Fellow on Reprieve's EC funded project, Elinor identified and assisted European nationals on death row in the US. Prior to working with Reprieve, Elinor was a legal intern for the defence team assisting Radovan Karadzic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, for which she continues to work pro bono. After graduating from the University of Amsterdam, Elinor spent four months at the Capital Appeals Project in New Orleans, Louisiana. She also volunteered for Amnesty International and PrisonLAW. Elinor has an LL.M. in International Law of Human Rights and Criminal Justice (summa cum laude) from Utrecht University, and an LL.M in Information Law and an LL.B. from the University of Amsterdam. After her Fellowship, Elinor returned to the Netherlands to pursue postgraduate studies in international law.

Nao Terai (Research Fellow, EC Project, USA, 2010)

Working in New Orleans as a Research Fellow on Reprieve's EC funded project, Nao identified and assisted European nationals on death row in the US. Prior to Reprieve, Nao was a litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP in New York, N.Y. During law school, Nao was a summer intern at the Innocence Project in New York, N.Y. and was a clinical student in Stanford's Criminal Defense Clinic. Before law school, Nao was a legal assistant in American Civil Liberty Union's Racial Justice Working Group for two years and an intern at the National Organization for Women. Nao has a B.A. in Sociology from Princeton University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. After her Fellowship, Nao joined the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defenders in Nevada as an attorney.

Kate Black (2008 – 2009)

Kate used her Reprieve fellowship at the Texas Defender Service (TDS) to challenge the use of experts in death penalty trials who purport to be able to predict the “future dangerousness” of defendants. In Texas, prosecutors use state-paid expert witnesses to convince juries that a defendant will continue to be a danger to society. This is presented as infallible testimony and has sealed the fate of countless defendants in Texas.

Read Kate's article, "What is future dangerousness" here.

Patrick Mulvaney (2008 – 2009)

As a law student, Patrick interned at the Southern Center (SCHR) for Human Rights, assisting with death penalty litigation, and at Reprieve in London, working on Guantanamo Bay and death penalty issues. Patrick used his one-year Reprieve Fellowship at SCHR to represent people on death row in Alabama who otherwise would not have an attorney in post-conviction proceedings. The State of Alabama refuses to provide funding for death row prisoners in post-conviction proceedings and allows judges to impose death sentences even when the jury on the case has recommended that the defendant receive a life sentence instead.

Frances Bourliot (2007 – 2009)

As a Reprieve fellow Frances Bourliot worked with the Texas Innocence Network on the Eyewitness Identification Project, which aims to reduce the problems in Texas’s eyewitness identification procedures, thus reducing the risk of wrongful convictions. Frances directly intervened in various capital cases and launched a campaign of public education alongside train¬ing for law enforcement agencies to minimise the chances of incorrect identification.

Read Frances' article "The trouble with eye witnesses" here.

Christine DeMaso (2007 – 2008)

Christine spent her one year fellowship at the American Civil Liberties Union’s Capital Punishment Project collecting nationwide data regarding the execution of accomplices to felony murders who had no intent to kill. Christine also prepared a model pleading, challenging the execution of this category of defendants.

Michael Moore (2007 – 2008)

As a part of his Reprieve fellowship, Michael provided direct investigation services on capital cases in New Orleans with NOLA Investigates, and recruited local students from New Orleans universities to work in capital defense.

Alma Lagarda (2006 – 2007)

Alma worked at Texas Defender Services as a two-year Reprieve Fellow. Her project aimed to stem executions in Texas by screening new arrivals on Texas' death row in order to identify cases with winnable issues and to provide assistance to appointed lawyers in state habeas proceedings. Alma's work focused on the most critical juncture of the judicial process: the point at which evidence must be developed and presented in order to preserve the right to post-conviction review. Alma also prepared materials for use in public education campaigns to raise awareness of the deficiencies that plague Texas' capital punishment system.

Terrica Redfield (2006 – 2007)

Hosted by the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) in Atlanta, Georgia and in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, Terrica used her one-year Reprieve fellowship to provide direct representation to people facing the death penalty at trial, on appeal, and in the post-conviction review process in the state of Alabama, providing assistance to trial counsel in Alabama, and working to ensure that capital juries in Alabama are more inclusive of minorities.

Bonnie Renou (2005 – 2007)

Bonnie was awarded a two year fellowship and spent that time working with cutting edge death penalty defence investigators at A Fighting Chance (AFC) in New Orleans, Louisiana, providing poor people in Louisiana facing the death penalty with the facts they need for their defence. In addition to regular casework, Bonnie took a leadership role in AFC's systemic work to improve the standards of investigation, such as for claims brought under the Atkins case which outlaws the execution of the mentally disabled.

Eleni Antonopoulos (2005 – 2007)

Eleni used her two year fellowship at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center (LCAC) to provide case investigation in cases that the state would not fund or under-funded in Texas and Louisiana, and provided investigative support for a challenge to the use of lethal injection in Louisiana, and to the Blackstrikes initiative, challenging racial discrimination in the use of peremptory strikes by prosecutors in Jefferson Parish.

Caroline Meyer (2005 – 2006)

Based at the Gulf Region Advocacy Center (GRACE) in Houston, Texas, Caroline Meyer spent her one year fellowship working to improve relationships between clients and their lawyers at the pre-trial stage. A good lawyer-client relationship is critical to the lawyer's ability to obtain the information needed to mount a defence, or to persuade a client to accept a plea offer that would safe his life. Caroline also worked to build a partnership between GRACE and local law schools and colleges to bring students from racial minorities into the capital defence community. She also worked to address the long history of racial bias in the selection of juries in Harris County.

Barry Gerharz (2004 – 2005)

Barry used his Reprieve Fellowship hosted by Innocence Project New Orleans to initiate a project to assist wrongfully convicted prisoners upon release as an “Exoneree Advocate.” Barry has helped exonerated death row prisoners obtain housing, medical care, job skills, education and counselling. As well as assisting exonerees directly, Barry worked on outreach and reform efforts on behalf of the wrongfully convicted.

Peter Tierney (2002 – 2003)

As a Reprieve Fellow, Peter reported on the achievements of the Orleans Parish Preliminary Hearing Project, which examined the efficacy of early intervention in capital cases, including aggressive investigation and full-blown preliminary hearings, and concluded that such intervention resulted in the reduction or dismissal of charges in over 80% of capital cases at the preliminary hearing stage.

Shauneen Lambe (2000 – 2001)

Shauneen Lambe piloted a project to provide intensive investigation and litigation support to public defenders in a jurisdiction in Louisiana returning a high volume of death sentences, resulting in a dramatic reduction in the number of death sentences imposed in cases included in the project.