Friday, September 16, 2011

Justice Stevens Extols Pro Bono Service, Criticizes Connick Ruling - The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Justice Stevens Extols Pro Bono Service, Criticizes Connick Ruling - The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
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In his remarks, Stevens said that during his private practice years roughly 50 years ago, he never represented someone on death row. But he did take on the case of a prisoner at Joliet Correctional Center in Illinois who claimed that he had confessed to his crime because the police had beaten him. "I was convinced his story was true," Stevens said. Stevens remembers the case vividly, which he said is proof of how meaningful and rewarding pro bono service is.

Stevens, who in 1976 voted to reinstate capital punishment, announced in a 2008 decision that he had come to view the death penalty as unconstitutional, in part because of the risk of executing innocent people. He retired in June, 2010.


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