National Lawyers Guild Student Chapters Call for Abolition of the Death Penalty
Across the United States, in observance of the March 1-International Death Penalty Abolition Day, student members of the
National Lawyers Guild are speaking out in opposition to the death penalty. Every year, law school chapters participate
in the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Student Day Against the Death Penalty by organizing panel discussions, debates, film
screenings, and other events. There are currently more than 3000 people on death row.
Míchel Angela Martinez, NLG National Student Organizer, says, "In poll after poll last year, more US citizens than ever
stated that they opposed the capital punishment. The reason is not a sudden epiphany: it is that students like those in
the National Lawyers Guild make the death penalty an issue. We find state-sanctioned murder abhorrent, and holding
events and demonstrations makes information available to the public, revealing the true nature of this barbaric
practice." The NLG calls for the immediate abolition of the death penalty.
National Lawyers Guild students focus not only on the cruel and unusual nature of capital punishment, but on its
economically and racially biased application. Students educate the public about the social and psychological impacts the
death penalty has on those in the prison system, as well as families and communities. Capital punishment is being
increasingly scrutinized as death row inmates are exonerated and states such as New Jersey officially outlaw the
practice.
The National Lawyers Guild, an organization of attorneys, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers, is part of
the growing national and international movement opposing the death penalty in the United States. Founded in 1937 as the
first racially integrated bar organization, the NLG today comprises over 200 chapters and committees using the law in
the service of the people.
ENDS